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RSSArchive for the ‘politics/world news’ CategoryThe First in 1000 YearsPosted April 22nd, 2013 by Jen in france/french, persecuted church, politics/world news, religion3 Comments » Imagine being the first person in your family tree in 1,000 years to do something radically different? I was reading about Christian missions in France and read this story which completely arrested me:
Algeria, with a population of over 37 million, is the largest country in Africa, bordered in the north by the Mediterranean Sea. Today Islam is the official state religion and about 99% of the population follow Sunni Muslim. What was happening for over a thousand years to prevent this first Christian’s ancestors from knowing Jesus? What wasn’t happening?! Algeria’s history is one of invasion after invasion: the Phoenicians, Romans, Vandals, Byzantines, and then, the prolonged invasions of over 1,000 years of the Muslim armies from Cairo (642-1830) which set the course of the nation. More invasions followed, the Spanish, the Ottomans, the French. But that 1,000 year reign of Muslim expansion could not be undone. But perhaps we are beginning to see the dawning of a new era. A French-Algerian who is the first in his family to be called Christian in a millennium? The gates of Hell shall not prevail. The anti-Alpha and OmegaPosted January 26th, 2013 by Jen in family life, politics/world news1 Comment »
I was thinking about how the Lord said, “I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end.” It’s strange, isn’t it, how here in America these are the two points at which we fail most unspeakably — we desecrate and dishonor both the beginning and the end? In the beginning, we kill and abandon unwanted babies, and in the end, too, we kill and abandon the elderly in increasing numbers. It’s known to anyone who has read the Bible, or simply experienced life, that whatever God holds dear, the enemy sets his sights on. Whatever power God possesses, Satan wants. Whatever is good and lovely, the enemy will purpose to steal, kill, and destroy it. So of course, if the Lord has made holy and declared power over the beginning and the end, guess what? The anti-Alpha and Omega wastes no time. Join me in prayer for the largest human rights issue of our day? Tradition!Posted November 25th, 2012 by Jen in family life, politics/world news4 Comments » This just seems wrong. I’ll take a cold spill on real ice, thank you. And that thin spray of ice shavings you can kick up when you do a hockey-stop? I’d miss it. And this? How will the children ever read the original U.S. Constitution? Or write a personal Thank You in flowing script for that special gift, signed with their unique signature? And what of those brain benefits and fine motor skills and the loss of an art? I’m with Tevye:
The constant tension between tradition and progress will never end. I like tradition for the comfort of it, the meaning it brings to life, the connection to the past and to others. Progress, it’s a benefit, too, of course, and a matter of course, and sometimes better. I would just hope that as a culture and as a nation we don’t ditch tradition because it’s the trendy thing to do, or the politically correct way, or the cheaper way, or because we think we’re intellectually superior to the “artificial constructs” we call tradition. And how do we keep our balance? The Moral Case for Free EnterprisePosted October 10th, 2012 by Jen in politics/world news1 Comment » Don’t miss this powerful video about the American dream, why a free market is morally good, and why economic freedom will always mean personal freedom. The false narrative about “greedy” business people is not just a lie, it’s a manipulative grab for power. The Dead President DreamPosted April 27th, 2012 by Jen in family life, politics/world news1 Comment » I had a dream last night that I was speaking to a dead president, actually I was practically wailing, begging for help for our nation’s predicaments. I specifically cried out to this specter of a president, white haired and stately, across the divide of time and space, about gross abuses of the First and Second Amendments by the current administration. The dead president? It might have been Jimmy Carter, as best as I can recall, but that would totally not make sense, but you know how dreams are. **Crazy** yes? I was hoping he could help. I don’t actually recall all the details of the offenses I brought before the ghostly man, but some had to do with the imprisonment of many people for their exercise of “free speech” that was somehow against the ruling authority and their social ethics. The other particular I remember pleading about was that guns were being completely confiscated from all people. On my honor, I was not watching or listening to any conservative rhetoric just prior to this dream, it just happened. In fact, I feel asleep listening to a Pimsleur French audio CD. I told my husband about the dream this morning and he mentioned this song, which I’d not heard before, called Mr. Lincoln by Hank Williams, Jr. The theme, while just sort of related, weirdly goes well with my dream.
The Staggering Relevance of BonhoefferPosted February 4th, 2012 by Jen in features, germany, history, persecuted church, politics/world news, religion9 Comments » Bonhoeffer’s been dogging me for decades and sometimes I do wish he’d back off, because he’s always reminding me that anything of value has a high price. I’m a tight-wad, I don’t like to pay high prices. Perhaps you’ve not been introduced to Dietrich Bonhoeffer? Today is his birthday, and 106 years ago he entered the world, along with his twin sister, Sabine, in Breslau, Germany, bringing great joy to Paula and Karl Bonhoeffer, and eventually there would be eight children who had the most lovely and nurturing family a child could hope for. Above the west entrance of Westminster Abbey in London are 10 modern martyrs – Bonhoeffer’s statue is among them. In the briefest of words, Bonhoeffer was a theologian, a pastor, a writer, a Christian, a prophet, an anti-Nazi spy. He was executed on April 9, 1945 in a German concentration camp for his involvement in a plot to assassinate Hitler, just days before liberation of that camp. But I’d like to talk about why we should be concerned about Bonhoeffer in the 21st century.
Exactly why is he relevant to such a degree that people are still writing biographies about him and giving talks and holding congresses? Germany in the 1930s and 40s is challenging to comprehend — the Nazi and Jewish issues, of course, the role of the church, and I wonder how to extrapolate from those times without finding a Nazi behind every overreaching government act. The state of Bonhoeffer’s world was that the German Christian church looked the other way as Jews were being carted off for “resettlement in the East.” In Bonhoeffer’s last great work, Ethics, though unfinished he considered it his magnum opus, he rebukes the church for her grave offenses against humanity and allowing herself to be subjugated by the Nazi regime:
Could this not have been written ten minutes ago, as Metaxes said in an interview? What are today’s burning issues? I ask, as I seek to find Bonhoeffer’s relevance. Abortion is one. I’m not comfortable addressing this contentious subject. Every person I know has been affected by this, either she has personally had an abortion or knows someone who has. And so who wants to go around telling a woman she is a negligent person, a selfish creature, a murderer? Not me. I vaguely, then rather insistently, wondered if Bonhoeffer ever had an opinion on the topic of abortion or the right to life. I discovered in his book, Ethics, what I was looking for.
Bonhoeffer considered many facets of abortion, including the pastoral care that necessarily should be involved:
He further speaks to extreme cases:
I’m amazed at the specific issues Bonhoeffer addresses with regard to abortion, and it all leaves me little room to wonder what Bonhoeffer would say today in the 21st century. As Eric Metaxas said, Bonhoeffer is staggeringly relevant. He further makes it clear that the right to life is not based on the qualities of the individual.
I read all this from Ethics just yesterday and my head fell into my hands and I wept. I almost didn’t want to know; silly, it’s not like Bonhoeffer’s opinion would change my mind, I had concluded when I was very young that abortion was an injustice. But have you ever experienced knowledge that suddenly unloads responsibility? It was this, and I wept, and I couldn’t even allow myself to grasp the entirety as I would have literally fallen to the ground from the weight of it. I don’t want to become a radical, oh, at least not any more radical than I already am. It’s dangerous to be radical. It’s so much safer to be non-radical, at least on this side of Heaven. Bonhoeffer was a radical of sorts by all accounts, and he paid for it with his life, with a a piano wire around his neck as he dangled naked in the courtyard of the Flossenbürg Concentration Camp in Germany. And yet he is my hero, and has been for two decades. Someone gave me The Cost of Discipleship by Dietrich Bonhoeffer when I was in my early twenties, and that was my introduction to this compelling man. I read bits and pieces and the words just sat smoldering in the recesses of my mind for twenty years. I do gravitate to the edge of costliness, but to actually take the leap, like Bonhoeffer, is not fully in my nature.
So from the beginning of my life as a committed Christian, I’ve had in the background of my thinking, always, the cost of discipleship, which is of course clear in the teachings of Jesus, but made so visible to me by Bonhoeffer. Bonhoeffer was continually accused of being a single-issue fanatic in his time. And why? He vehemently opposed Nazi interference in the church and so was stripped of his pastoral license and forbidden to speak in public or print or publish. He then helped Jews escape to Switzerland which led to his first arrest. Don’t we look back from our vantage point and not see this as fanatical at all? We are not allowed the privilege of seeing our present from a future viewpoint, and that’s why I spend all this time with Bonhoeffer, searching and probing for relevance and truth to help myself, and maybe spare myself from death of conscience. But I’ve come to realize there are rarely single-issue fanatics. There is a vast underpinning of philosophies and moralities that find expression in a single-issue, and start digging and you will find the true breadth of it all. Bonhoeffer’s extensive writings demonstrate this theory, and the complexity of what appears to be a single-issue begs to be examined. Five years ago, on the anniversary of Bonhoeffer’s execution, I wrote an essay exploring Bonhoeffer’s call to the church, a call to action for times when the state is involved in illegitimate actions. I said I’d write more later. And here it is, it took me a while. I quote again from Bonhoeffer’s writings in Ethics, scathing words to the church in his day relating to the Jews, but equally applicable and significant for the unborn in our day:
Bonhoeffer, oh, could he have known that he would suffer to the last and to the fullest, with Christ and with the Jews and the undesirables? I do think he knew, and he intentionally chose the way of the cross.
May I leave you with some resources for you to further examine the relevance of the life of Dietrich Bonhoeffer to your world? Following are some links (which have been of immense help to me) to books, essays, videos, blogs, all of which either directly speak of Bonhoeffer, or involve current issues to which his principles could be applied. Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy by Eric Metaxas
Technorati Tags: abortion, Cost of Discipleship, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Eric Metaxas, Ethics, Jewish question, Nazi Germany Why Claire Berlinski is AwesomePosted February 3rd, 2012 by Jen in politics/world news0 Comments While Claire tells me exactly what is going on in Syria at this moment in totally understandable and frank terms, FoxNews thinks that today’s best world news is that a school principal in Trinidad puts students’ heads in toilets. Truly, nothing about Syria on Fox’s main page as I write this. CNN does have a story on their main page, but I really don’t like CNN and they fail to mention possible outcomes, they title their story including the words “bold and exhilarating” which is sort of inappropriate for the situation, and they seem to think diplomats or the UN might be of some use here. CNN says the U.N. Security Council is drafting a resolution to “put more pressure on Syria,” while Ms. Berlinski says:
Ms. Berlinski does honest risk assessment and thinks of a plan–slim chances of anything working but at least she’s thinking.
Thanks, Claire. While I think she’s rather crazy and radical to choose of her own volition to live and write from Istanbul, isolate herself from friends and family, continually place herself in bodily danger, and insert her opinion at her peril on explosive Middle East politics, she’s pretty awesome. Thursday ThreadsPosted November 17th, 2011 by Jen in family life, politics/world news8 Comments » Good Thursday to you! I’m too busy to write much or write well, but here are some threads catching my attention today. 1. The Iron Lady. This film is a biopic on Margaret Thatcher, Prime Minister of The United Kingdom from 1979 – 1990. Because Hollywood hates conservative women, I’m afraid this will be a hit job, but I await the release with huge anticipation. Her arrival at 10 Downing Street was historic, and I’d love to see a fair treatment of her complex personality and contribution to world affairs, but casting Meryl Streep as Thatcher is like casting Sean Penn as Reagan–you can’t get more politically polar. The jury is still out on whether Streep, an outstanding actress, will put aside her own contempt of conservative politics and do right by Maggie. 2. This fantastique French blogger is on her way to publishing a book in 21 days! Kristin Espinasse, my French connection and kindred spirit, is culling hundreds of blogs post to compile into a vignette of French life, to be self-published through Amazon’s CreateSpace. Go Kristin!! She had previously put out a traditional house-published book, also a collection of blog posts, and this new book will pick up where that one left off. 3. Today in history (November 17, 1558) marks the beginning of the Elizabethan Age! (Hello, Shakespeare). Queen Mary Tudor died, and Elizabeth I ascended the English throne. Also on this date in 1603 Sir Walter Raleigh went on trial for treason and today in 1796 Catherine the Great of Russia died. This day was also terrible for the tango: on November 17, 1913, Kaiser Wilhelm in Germany banned the armed forces from dancing the tango. 5. Detroit also has a coffee angel. Random photos from my file (and wow, rearrage the letters of file and you have life!):
~Love Jen
Technorati Tags: Margaret Thatcher, Prime Minister UK, The Iron Lady It’s like going into a strip bar and being offended by nudity.Posted October 27th, 2011 by Jen in persecuted church, politics/world news2 Comments » It’s a Catholic University, for God’s sake. Really, it’s for God’s sake. And Muslims who CHOOSE of their own free will to pay lots of money and attend this Catholic religious educational institution, are now complaining and filed a 60 page complaint with the D.C. Office of Human Rights against Catholic University in Washington, D.C. for violating their “human rights” by not providing them with special prayer rooms that are devoid of any Christian symbols such as the cross. I would love to think this was a joke. Or at least that it was some mentally unbalanced fringe character who filed the lawsuit. But no (or maybe yes), it was an attorney and professor at George Washington University who filed the complaint. The Office of Human Rights expects the investigation to take as long as six months. It should take six seconds: it’s a private Catholic University, assimilate or go to a Muslim school or a government school. And then let’s talk about how you feel about a Christian church in Mecca. It’s like going to the Louvre and filing a complaint that there is not a single room in the entire museum that is devoid of art. Or like going to La Scala and being offended that singing filled the entire opera house. Or like watching the World Series and being offended by the balls. *my title comes from a comment on this article~thanks, Timothy in Georgia D-Day in ColorPosted June 6th, 2011 by Jen in france/french, history, politics/world news0 Comments By the numbers:
Their finest hour, as Churchill said on June 18, 1940.
Remembering Normandy. Happy Memorial DayPosted May 30th, 2011 by Jen in holidays, politics/world news0 Comments
I suppose the only thing that puts the “happy” in Happy Memorial Day is the remembering. The importance of remembering is huge. So huge that if we forget, all really is lost. Remembrance leads to action. It is an act of truth and honor. Please pause from your BBQ, your boating, your biking or hiking and remember the fallen, the fighters, those who died in battle and those among us that are dead inside though they live. This short trailer for the documentary Honor Flight to be released in November 2011 is a kind way to remember the fallen, as told by their comrades who now have little time left to tell. In Flanders Fields In Flanders fields the poppies blow 1915 {photo: the shack at the end of my lane} Technorati Tags: Memorial Day Giving to Japan: Please consider my friends the MillardsPosted March 17th, 2011 by Jen in persecuted church, politics/world news, religion4 Comments » Do you wonder how to give responsibly and directly to the Japanese relief effort in the wake of the March 10, 2011 earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear disaster? I remember after Katrina, Haiti, and other colossal calamities, there was much waste and fraud, and little accountability concerning the donations that were made. So, I want to introduce you to friends of mine who have been serving as Christian missionaries in Japan for over 20 years. Jim & Masako Millard of Sunrise International Ministries They were sent out as missionaries from my home church in Eugene. Jim grew up in the Eugene area and met his future Japanese wife, Masako, while attending the University of Oregon. The rest is history, as they say. My husband and I have been supporting them for at least a decade, and know without a doubt that monies given directly to their ministry is literally saving people as I write, as their family is busy with buying food and supplies in Tokyo and trucking them into Sendai province.
I’ve been receiving the Millards’ monthly newsletter for many years, and can attest to the incredible passion and often crippling perseverance this family has lived out on behalf of the Japanese people whom they love with all their hearts. I find it compelling that all of their children are serving the Lord, and with the exception of their daughter Anna who is currently attending the University of Oregon, their grown kids are also working as missionaries in Japan. If you have the resources to give financially to Japanese relief or missions, please consider donating to Sunrise International Ministries for relief work in Sendai province. I truly believe they have been placed there for such a time as this. And please continue to pray for Japan!
Technorati Tags: Japan earthquake, Japan missions, Japan relief, Japan tsunami, Jim & Masako Millard, Sunrise International Ministries Grieving with PolandPosted April 10th, 2010 by Jen in history, politics/world news6 Comments » I’ve been emailing back and forth today with a friend in Poland. I’m hosting a young Polish girl this summer, the student of my friend who teaches English there. We went over the details of Julia’s itinerary and plans for her stay in the U.S. Of course, we talked about the tragic plane crash today that killed the President of Poland, along with 96 other Polish political leaders and citizens. My friend emailed me:
Please offer some prayers for our brothers and sisters in Poland. I was reminded this morning of reason #99 to host a foreign exchange student: as we connect with people around the globe, our capacity for understanding and love expands. I was riveted by the news of the devastating loss even more so because I feel a personal connection to at least two people in Poland. God’s blessings on Poland. It is a very special place. The reform movement that began the dismantling of communism in east central Europe began in Poland. We have the Poles to thank in large part for the fall of the Berlin Wall. I pray that the new leaders of this significant nation will be bold freedom seekers and lovers of liberty.
Technorati Tags: Poland, Lech Kaczynski, Polish President, plane crash, foreign exchange student Suite Française and Irene’s StoryPosted April 4th, 2010 by Jen in features, france/french, history, persecuted church, politics/world news, religion2 Comments » Suite Française has three parts: the two main novellas, “Storm in June” and “Dolce,” and the Appendices that provide essential details about author Irène Némirovsky’s plans for the book as well as gripping correspondence that highlights the tragic story unfolding in her own family. Suite Française portrays life in France from June, 1940 to July 1, 1941. The early German occupation of France and its impact on the daily lives of those involved is told with clarity and deep understanding of a depraved humanity and human conduct under significant pressure. The story opens with residents realizing the Germans are at the gates of Paris. The narratives of a few people are followed as chaos ensues. The reader gets a sense of both the individual and the collective panic, with banks failing, railroads being bombed, houses being overtaken by Nazi soldiers. The mass exodus from Paris is described in “Storm in June” with a beautiful, expressive tone, as the author relates a scene from a boulevard where families are moving with a dizzying agitation to pack up their families and belongings:
The second novella, “Dolce,” describes a subdued and defeated French people in the village of Bussy who must live with an incoming garrison of Wehrmacht troops. We see a settling, an adapting to the new reality of an occupied country. There are collaborators and resisters, and all the characters in between. Suite Française ends with the German regiment leaving the village of Bussy to continue their fighting in Moscow. The final scene describes the village onlookers watching the enemy pull out.
About the Author: Irène Némirovsky, a Jew from Ukraine, was born into a wealthy family that eventually fled the country during the Russian Revolution. The family ended up in Paris, and Irène quickly became a celebrated author in France. Irène was not what one would consider an observant Jew. In fact, some have called her a self-hating Jew. Her willingness to convert to Catholicism for protection, her unsuccessful attempt to become a French citizen, her usage of anti-Semitic publishers to promote her books — all reveal a woman who was trusting in France and not Yahweh to save her. But no matter, none of this diminishes the important place in Holocaust literature of Suite Française. You won’t find the spiritual Jewish perspective of an Anne Frank or Elie Wiesel in Irène’s writings, but this just highlights Hitler’s insanity. He didn’t care if you loved or hated being a Jew. The Nazis dealt the same hand of death to both. Married to Jewish banker Michel Epstein, Irène had two daughters, Denise and Élisabeth. It was these two daughters we have to thank for the survival of the manuscript Suite Française. By 1940, Jews all over Europe were deeply persecuted, and so it was with Irène’s family. She could no longer get her books published, and her husband could no longer work at the bank because of their Jewish ancestry. Despite having converted to Catholicism and being a popular literary figure in France, Irène was arrested in July 1942 as a “stateless person of Jewish descent” and sent to Auschwitz, where she died on August 17, 1942. Her husband shared the same fate a few months later in the gas chambers. And what of the children and this book, Suite Française? Denise and Élisabeth were hidden in schools and convents until the war’s end. Their father, before he was taken away, had given them one possession to guard with their lives: a little suitcase which contained a special notebook. Can you imagine these two little orphan girls, about 13 and 5 years old, in hiding and in possession of this one family memento, too afraid to leave it, too afraid to examine its contents? In fact, for over 50 years, the leatherbound notebook which contained Irène’s two novellas which comprise Suite Française, written in microscopic print to save precious paper, remained unopened inside of this suitcase. Irène’s daughters thought it was their mother’s journal, and knew that reading it would be too painful to bear. Upon preparing to give her mother’s papers to a French archive in the late 1990′s, Denise finally had the courage to open the notebook. She discovered this extraordinary work, incomplete yet whole, written under the most formidable circumstances. The two novellas were intended to be the beginning of a series of five stories which would encompass the whole of the war, to its end. Irène wrote that the rest of the oeuvre was “in limbo, and what limbo! It’s really in the lap of the gods since it depends on what happens.” Irène’s writing in Suite Française is remarkable not just for its brilliant composition but its perspective. Irène did not begin writing this book until 1941, literally as these events were unfolding before her. However, Suite Française reads not like the diary of one writing contemporaneously with the historical events, lacking a certain coherence, but it presents a viewpoint usually reserved for one who is a generation removed from the time in question who has had time to reflect. I wonder if Irène’s placement in the timeline of human history prepared her for such a task? She had already lived as a persecuted Jew through a major war, and experienced firsthand the full circle of events. After the 1918 Russian Revolution, the Bolsheviks seized her father’s bank and the Nemirovsky family had to disguise themselves as peasants and flee to Finland. Denise reported after publication of Suite Française, “For me, the greatest joy is knowing that the book is being read. It is an extraordinary feeling to have brought my mother back to life. It shows that the Nazis did not truly succeed in killing her. It is not vengeance, but it is a victory.” Universal Pictures has acquired screen rights to Suite Française. I think a better choice might be to make a movie about Irène Némirovsky herself, whose real life story is much more moving than the fiction she wrote. sources: In other blogs:
Technorati Tags: France, Irene Nemirovsky, Nazi Germany, Suite Française, World War II When you feel like giving upPosted November 20th, 2009 by Jen in family life, politics/world news, religion6 Comments »
Remember Winston Churchill’s words to Harrow School on a visit in October of 1941:
He could not have known fully what was to come. It was only 1941, and several years of terrible, unspeakable war were ahead. Churchill did also say in that same speech something that does, however, lead me to believe he had an inkling:
I feel like giving up almost daily. I stop and pray. Sometimes there is a breakthrough and the clouds powerfully part and the sun shines through. Sometimes there is no breakthrough, only new struggles. I was struck in Churchill’s speech by the quote from Kipling to treat Triumph and Disaster just the same (from the classic poem “If” by Rudyard Kipling). Which is with courage and humility. As the Bible says, give thanks in all things.
Be strong today.
Technorati Tags: faith, “If” by Rudyard Kipling, don’t give up, Winston Churchill The Advent of Freedom: celebrating 20 years of the fall of the Berlin WallPosted November 9th, 2009 by Jen in features, politics/world news2 Comments » Today marks the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall. In this Thanksgiving month, what a reminder to give thanks to God for freedom, wherever it exists, both on the face of the earth and in our spirits. Where there is no freedom, there is death in every sense. You can click here to view President Reagan’s “Tear Down this Wall” speech at the Brandenburg Gate in West Berlin.
Where were you in 1989? I was a freshman/sophomore in college and remember the winds of freedom and the breath of the Spirit of God sweeping across Eastern Europe. The topic was on the lips of everyone I knew, yet I was too young to realize what a momentous and once-in-a-lifetime event this was. I heard about miraculous events in Poland, not understanding exactly what “solidarity” meant, but loving the word. The collapse of communism, as it unfolded before this young woman, was like a great revival movement, the product of much suffering, much prayer, much sacrifice, and great boldness. I wish I could go back to that scene for a moment and feel again what it felt like, this time with more wisdom and experience. Celebrate freedom today!
Technorati Tags: Berlin Wall, collapse of communism, Ronald Reagan Corazon Aquino, former Philippines president, has diedPosted July 31st, 2009 by Jen in politics/world news3 Comments » I just read on the AP news:
Most of you have probably shed tears over the death of someone you never knew, and this was the case for me as I read the news of this amazing woman and one of my heroes of democracy. Cory (as she was called) Aquino was a Christian and a deeply devout woman of prayer. I do not pass lightly over that fact. She trusted in the mighty God of all nations to end the repressive dictatorship in her beloved Philippines. Cory had to trust God through many trials. She had been a homemaker, raising four daughters and a son. Her husband was imprisoned by President Ferdinand Marcos because of his outspoken criticism of the regime, for the long years of 1972-1980. She was then widowed, with her husband Benigno “Ninoy” Aquino Jr., the opposition leader, being assassinated as he stepped off a plane in 1983. She was suddenly thrust into a very different role. Her presidency was not perfect, but what she did was to bring a gift to the table that echoed around the world. Freedom is like that. What happened in eastern Europe in the late 1980s is one of her legacies. The relatively non-violent overthrow of Soviet-style communism (and the ending of the Cold War), beginning in Poland, moving on to Hungary, East Germany, Czechoslovakia, Bulgaria and Romania, can be traced to the inspiration of Corazon Aquino, and what she called “Prayer Power.” Here is a short excerpt from a 1995 University of Oregon Commencement Address given by Corazon Aquino:
Technorati Tags: Corazon Aquino, Philippines, Ferdinand Marcos, democracy The American Revolution and the Marquis de LafayettePosted July 5th, 2009 by Jen in education, features, history, politics/world news3 Comments »
Historians all agree on the fact that without the significant economic and military aid of the French government, the fledgling United States of America would have likely lost the Revolutionary War against the British. And this particular Frenchman, the Marquis de Lafayette, was perhaps the most crucial piece of French support. Born in 1757 as Marie Joseph Paul Yves Roche Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette, he suffered the death of his father before he was two years old and the death of his mother at age 12. His family belonged to the French nobility, so he was left with quite a fortune. In addition, at the age of sixteen, he married into the very wealthy de Noailles family. There was no need to seek fame and fortune in a faraway land on a dangerous mission, so why on earth would this young man, only 19 years old, be so resolved to volunteer for the colonies in the American cause of freedom, a land he had never seen, a people he did not know? I’m sure the reasons for Lafayette’s service in the American Revolutionary War are complex, and I’ve tried to search out some of his motives. The first thing that comes to mind is his youth. While at first glance it’s his age that strikes me as so uncommon for such a glorious cause, there is also a freshness and vigor and sense of invincibility that comes with youth. However, he did have a wife and young son he left behind when he first landed near Charleston, South Carolina in June of 1777. Being orphaned at a young age and married with child certainly matures one beyond his years. There must be more. I turned to the issue of revenge. I considered the tragedy of his father’s death–his father was killed by a British cannonball during the Seven Years’ War. For a young man who likely longed to know his father and who he must have revered as a hero, I wondered if Lafayette had found vengeance for his father’s death. To support the American cause of liberty was to defy and destroy British domination. Revenge can only carry one so far, however, and reflecting on how Lafayette put his very life on the line, as well as spending his personal fortune to buttress the American forces, I searched still deeper. When considering the whole of Lafayette’s life, well beyond the American Revolution, I found in him a profound and immense freedom-fighting spirit that must have propelled him even from youth. Were the American Revolution just about personal glory or youthful fantasy, Lafayette’s quest would have likely ended there. However, as we see him fight for representative government in the French Revolution, it’s clear that Lafayette was one of those unique persons in human history who was born to fulfill an instinctive yearning for freedom, no matter the time or place. Independence and self-government are ideals that simply resonated with Lafayette. As he served under General George Washington, these two men developed a life-long friendship and considered one another as father and son. Great people like these do find each other, invisibly drawn together by the same passion and intellect. Lafayette participated in key battles of the Revolution, including those at Brandywine and Yorktown. In addition to military expertise, he exercised great diplomacy in convincing the king of France to increase his support in substantial excess of his original intent. As Americans celebrate their Independence, I do hope they remember France and one particular Marquis de Lafayette. sources:
Technorati Tags: American Revolution, Fourth of July, France, French Revolution, Independence, Marquis de Lafayette Parakeet MoralityPosted March 7th, 2009 by Jen in family life, politics/world news, religion11 Comments » How parakeet breeding led me to thoughts on a great moral issue: I stopped in the pet store yesterday to get some grit for the birds, to aid their digestion. While there, the kids reminded me of one of their pressing concerns. We have a boy and girl parakeet, and the kids keep wondering if they will have babies. My son begged for a nest to place in the bird cage, just in case. My daughter’s mind was filled with the wonder of baby keets. The store clerk discouraged all of this. She and I had just finished a discussion about how to work with our birds to turn them into friendly, tame, sit-on-your-finger kind of birds. She pointed out that once parakeets have babies, they will not be tame pets. They will be extremely protective of their brood and you can forget about a sweet housebroken budgie. I was fuzzy on some issues. What if they mate without all the nice trappings of a brooding box and comfy nest, and the girl lays her eggs on the bottom of the cage? Just throw them out, said the clerk. Take the eggs away, she’ll forget all about them, and she won’t lay any more eggs after a while. Do not encourage breeding, she said, by not putting a nesting area in the cage. Then you’ll get to keep the birds as pets to pamper and cuddle and train. I couldn’t help thinking about how to dispose of those eggs without the children having a meltdown. Would I flush them down the toilet? Would I toss them out the window? Offer them to someone with a pet snake? Ah, well, they are just parakeet eggs, and the snakes need to eat. Okay, so the only way for the parakeets to care enough about human companionship instead of protecting their clutch is to prevent them from breeding, and take away their eggs when they do happen to lay them. For some reason, my mind made a leap this morning, a shocking leap to connect with a great moral issue that I think of often. Abortion. Here is the connection I made. I wondered if the taking away of a human mother’s baby-in-utero, abortion, has the same effect (the “taming” of humans), and if there is perhaps an underlying societal motivation (from the left) for wanting women and couples to not “breed.” A motivation similar to the parakeet issue: are women and families more easily manipulated and pliable when they don’t have the “mother bear” syndrome, the innate and fierce drive a mother has to look out for the best interest of her baby? A new mother, of course, will be less interested in say, political issues of whether murderous criminals should be spared the death penalty or whether women should have the “right to choose,” than she will be in the immediate care of her newborn, how to feed and nurture him, and don’t you dare harm my baby. Does it seems plausible that childless people will be more loyal to the state than to the family? I’m making a leap here, but there is some shifting of interests that occurs when your eggs are stolen away and you’re encouraged to forget about them, be you parakeet or person.
Technorati Tags: abortion, parakeet breeding Today at the salon…Posted February 5th, 2009 by Jen in history, politics/world news6 Comments »
From Wikipedia. Most notable in the 17th and 18th centuries in France, the salon was an important place for the exchange of ideas. This painting is called In the Salon of Madame Geoffrin in 1755, by Anicet-Charles-Gabriel Lemmonier:
Blogs are a bit of a modern salon, I think. So, I wonder, if you were to attend the salon, what would you care to discuss? What books or ideas would you want to explore? Zakaria Botros, unafraid to defy IslamPosted January 25th, 2009 by Jen in features, persecuted church, politics/world news, religion9 Comments »
However, mass conversions to Christianity as a result of his ministry are the reason for the label. About six million Muslims convert to Christianity annually, and an Islamic cleric admitted on al-Jazeera TV not too long ago that many of these conversions are attributed to Botros’ public ministry. What is his secret, and how has he survived? I believe his greatest asset is his command of classic Arabic and his TV show broadcast in Arabic into the heart of Muslim territory. Born in Egypt, Botros has been hosting Truth Talk since 2003, a weekly 90 minute show where he expertly exposes the inherent contradictions of Islam. Because Zakaria Botros knows Arabic and has read all of the teachings of Muhammed, the Quran, and countless other Muslim books, he is in an unusually strategic position to counter the inconsistencies of Islam with Islam itself, not just the Bible or Christian teaching. Botros is ultimately interested in saving souls, but is aware that a traditional evangelical approach will not work. He explained this recently:
One example of how Botros will expose Islam with his polemic, debating style, was his lengthy exposure of a certain embarrassing aspect of Islamic law, which Islamic authorities are unable to rebut:
Another telling illustration of how Zakaria Botros forces Muslims to examine the roots of their faith is this:
Whether Zakaria Botros is confronting universal jihad or the inferiority of women, he is always careful to painstakingly cover all the sources, quoting the original Islamic texts and inviting a response from the ulema, the expert Muslim theologians who articulate sharia law. Al-dalil we al-burhan, evidence and proof, is what he demands. You may wonder how Zakaria Botros is still alive. You must know that any one of his statements would bring death if he were to be roaming the streets preaching in any Islamic town. He’s been jailed twice for preaching the gospel to Muslims, and was sentenced to life in prison. Miraculously, the judge instead released him on the condition that he be forced into exile – Botros had to leave Egypt for good. After having ministered in Cairo for over 30 years, Botros moved to England. Since then, he “retired” into his airwave ministry. It seems the threats are just beginning. Botros is sure he’d be dead were it not for broadcasting from an undisclosed location. Jihadist groups have posted death threats worth up to a reported $60 million for his head. Zakaria Botros knows the seriousness of this. Growing up as a child in Alexandria, Egypt, Muslim attackers killed his young teenage brother. His response:
Botros does more than defy Islam. He offers an alternative, the truth of Christianity, and he consistently opens and closes his show with an invitation to his viewers to come to Christ. With the growing worldwide hostility to anyone who speaks out against Islam (for example, the Dutch lawmaker currently facing prosecution for anti-Islamic statements), Botros is truly fearless. “Fear? I fear nothing,” says Botros. “My dictionary does not contain the word fear. I believe in God and I believe that the epistle of Ephesians says we are created in Jesus Christ for a plan, which was engaged from the early beginning. No one can cut it, and when it is completed no one can continue it.” photo: World Magazine
Technorati Tags: Christianity, Islam, Zakaria Botros, Muslim, evangelizing Muslims Berthe Fraser, from Housewife to French Resistance HeroPosted January 18th, 2009 by Jen in features, france/french, germany, persecuted church, politics/world news14 Comments » In Nazi occupied France during the dark days of WWII, there was a group of valiant and daring individuals known as the French Resistance. They dared to defy the vice-grip of Nazi Germany (as well as the French collaborators) using stealth, reconnaissance, infiltration, and whatever means necessary to save their beloved country and fellow man from destruction. Most of these brave souls were subject to betrayal, unspeakable torture, or death. One of these members of the French Resistance appeared to be an ordinary housewife, but Berthe Fraser was anything but ordinary. Berthe Fraser was among hundreds of people who rose to the treacherous task of defending France. Be they a housewife, a mother, a Catholic, a Jew, a communist, an artist, or a politician, these resistance fighters came from all layers of society, both male and female, young and old, and without their heroic acts, Hitler’s march through France may not have been halted. The French Resistance took many forms, from groups of armed guerilla bands who escaped to the mountains, known as the Maquis, to organizers of escape networks for Jews and other targets of the Nazis, to publishers of underground newspapers, to those who carried out sabotage operations, to couriers who carried coded messages back and forth between Allied members. Mrs. Fraser’s story begins with her birth in 1894 as Berthe Emilie Vicogne. She married an Englishman and thus became a British subject. When the rumblings of WWII hit France, Berthe Fraser was going about her domestic life in her hometown of Arras, France, all the while organizing an underground network that saved the lives of countless English agents and pilots. Her husband reported later to an English newspaper:
Twice betrayed but never broken, Berthe Fraser was an unshakable woman for whom I have the utmost awe and respect. I can relate to where she was in life; a woman in her 40s, tending to her home. I don’t know if she had any children, but as a woman, I feel the risks of undertaking the work of the Resistance were doubly perilous. I wish there was more information available about this woman. I know she suffered extreme torture during her second capture, and this trauma surely accounts for the lack of details. Who wants to recall the horror? I can find no record of a public interview. I discovered in the back matter of the book SOE in France by M.R.D. Foot, that Berthe Fraser died in 1956, her health never restored. In 1941, someone betrayed Berthe, and she was arrested by the Gestapo. She spent 15 months in a Belgian prison, and was released in December 1942. Did this imprisonment deter her? No. Berthe immediately jumped back into the work of fighting Hitler’s campaign of death and terror.
From the Charlotte Gray website, an excellent Warner Bros. movie about a Scottish woman living in England, parachuted into France by the British Government (SOE) to support the French Resistance. Berthe was betrayed again in 1944, unbelievably by one of the very English agents whose life she saved. She spent six months in solitary confinement at Loos where she was tortured every day. She was stripped and flogged in front of Nazi troops and condemned to death. Never did she betray her friends in the Resistance or the English army. How many lives she saved through her own afflictions will never be known. When the Allies stormed the prison on September 1, 1944, Berthe Fraser was just hanging onto life, and she is reported to have said, “Thank you boys, you are just in time.”
Sisters in Resistance, a documentary film by Independent Lens.
Charlotte Gray, a Warner Bros. film.
For Freedom, a novel by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley. An excellent young adult book for grades 6-12.
Outwitting the Gestapo, a memoir by Lucie Aubrac.
Sisters in the Resistance by Margaret Collins Weitz.
Code Name Christiane Clouet: A Woman in the French Resistance by Claire Chevrillon.
An American Heroine in the French Resistance: The Diary and Memoir of Virginia D’Albert-Lake by Virginia D’Albert-Lake.
Behind Enemy Lines: The True Story of a French Jewish Spy in Nazi Germany by Marthe Cohn.
Carve Her Name With Pride by RJ Minney. Also on film.
A Life in Secrets: Vera Atkins and the Missing Agents of WWII by Sarah Helm.
Flames in the Field: The Story of Four SOE Agents in Occupied France by Rita Kramer.
Technorati Tags: Berthe Fraser, French Resistance, France, Nazi Germany, Hitler, women in history Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn: literary giant, light of truthPosted January 13th, 2009 by Jen in features, politics/world news, religion6 Comments »
Just over five months ago, the Russian novelist and historian, Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn (December 11, 1918 – August 3, 2008), died in his homeland. What a loss to the world, this giant of the twentieth century who wrote from a Christian worldview to change the world. Through the writings of Solzhenitsyn, the West became acquainted with the Gulag, the forced labor camps of the Soviet Union, in which he served an eight-year term for criticizing Joseph Stalin in a private letter to a friend. Solzhenitsyn’s experiences in the labor camps formed the basis of his groundbreaking novel One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich. His masterpiece, The Gulag Archipelago, came about a decade later, a scorching detail of four decades of Soviet terror and oppression. Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1970. At the end of Solzhenitsyn’s term in the labor camps, he was sent to internal exile in Kazakhstan, a common fate of political prisoners. During his imprisonment and exile, Solzhenitsyn turned deeply philosophical and spiritual and threw off the Marxism of his former days as a Red Army captain. His story sort of parallels that of Dostoevsky, who also spent time in exile in Siberia and had a quest for faith a hundred years before Solzhenitsyn. Solzhenitsyn was finally freed from exile in 1956 under the Khrushchev regime, and spent his time teaching and writing. However, after the ousting of Khrushchev in 1964, things took a turn for the worse once again. The KGB began seizing his manuscripts, and by 1974, Solzhenitsyn lived in exile once again. Once the KGB found the manuscripts for the first part of The Gulag Archipelago, Solzhenitsyn was arrested, deported, and stripped of his Soviet citizenship. He found refuge in Germany, then Switzerland, and finally, the United States, where he ended up spending almost two decades.
The entire text of this speech is brilliant and prophetic for 2009, and I do hope you take the time to read it. This portion of that Harvard address, in which Solzhenitsyn speaks of courage, or the lack thereof, is especially insightful:
One who has seen the depths of evil and is a person of any courage must tell the truth of the matter, as Solzhenitsyn has done time after time. From various writings and interviews I’ve come across, Solzhenitsyn is best characterized by Truth–he is compelled to reveal it. Being the remarkable, profound writer that he was, his words cannot be paraphrased by anything I could attempt to cobble together, so here are some more choice morsels from his pen:
Issues in Solzhenitsyn’s writings revolve around matters of conscience. He writes of God, justice, how people should live rightly in a corrupt nation, how the state has taken the place of the church, and always, truth. Technorati Tags: Russia, Christianity, Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, Truth, Stalin, The Gulag, faith, Soviet Union I support Israel.Posted January 11th, 2009 by Jen in persecuted church, politics/world news15 Comments » Just wanted to say that. Because I am SICK of the thousands of protesters from D.C. to Denmark who scream Free Palestine, and whine and curse about the cruelty and “holocaust” that Israel is perpetrating against Gaza. How DARE they even use the term holocaust, that is completely revolting to me. Israel must defend herself. Where were all the shrieking protesters for the past two or three years as Hamas has been fiercely pursuing the total annihilation of Israel, raining rockets into Israel, intentionally killing civilians, while Israel has always bent over backwards to avoid civilian casualties? Oh, I forgot, they were busy actively promoting the destruction of American civilization on every front, the very civilization that’s given them the freedom to be such double-standard double-speakers. And in Europe, where the bulk of the protests have been taking place, they were too busy enacting Sharia law. How can civilized people who truly care about human life be supporting these terrorists who purposely use human shields, carry out military operations from schools and hospitals, and proudly train up their children to be suicide bombers? Because if you’re not supporting Israel in this issue, you are certainly supporting Hamas terrorists and radical Islamic anti-semitic jihadists who fund them. There is no other choice no matter how one tries to frame it in the current wishy-washy-it’s-cool-and-intellectual-to-be-anti-American-pro-Palestinian cultural trend. I support Israel. Helen Suzman, voice of freedom for South AfricaPosted January 4th, 2009 by Jen in features, politics/world news4 Comments »
Suzman served in the South African parliament from 1953 to 1989, and fought a long, brave battle against government oppression of the country’s black majority. She was twice nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize, and was one of the few white lawmakers to fight against the injustices of racially discriminatory regulations and ways of life. For 13 of her years in parliament, Helen Suzman was the only lawmaker opposing the endless racist legislation introduced by the National Party government. She was called a “vicious little cat” by former South African President P.W. Botha and “An enemy of the state” by Zimbabwe’s President Mugabe – titles she wore a bit proudly in her maverick way. Her story reminds me of another member of parliament in another country in another era. Just last week I watched the moving Amazing Grace, the story of William Wilberforce (1759-1833), an evangelical Christian who was a member of the English Parliament. For 18 years, Wilberforce regularly introduced anti-slavery motions in parliament, and was also a lonely voice who fought on despite enormous odds. Wilberforce eventually passed a motion to end the slave trade in Britain, and in due course, an end to slavery itself in the British empire. I first learned of South Africa’s practice of apartheid (social and political policy of racial segregation enforced by law) during high school. I read Alan Paton’s deeply moving novel Cry the Beloved Country for an AP English class, the greatest piece of literature to emerge out of South Africa. As a teenager, this was the most profound book I had ever read, and even now, over 20 years later, I still have not read a more penetrating, insightful, or beautiful novel. Paton tells the story of a Zulu pastor searching a corrupt city for his son Absalom, and their lives intersect with a white landowner and his own son in a most tragic way, highlighting the racial divide of South Africa. The movie version of Cry the Beloved Country is also outstanding, with a brilliant performance by James Earl Jones as Rev. Kumalo. What Alan Paton did for raising popular awareness of the plight of black South Africans through poetic prose, Helen Suzman did through tireless work in parliament. Back in 1967, Suzman visited Nelson Mandela in prison on Robben Island, where he served 18 of his 27 years in prison for anti-apartheid activity. Nelson later recalled of Helen Suzman:
Helen Suzman’s tireless crusading for the cause of the repressed black South Africans paid off, and apartheid began to be dismantled from 1990-1993, and Nelson Mandela was elected as South Africa’s first black president in 1994. Suzman was at Nelson Mandela’s side in 1996 when he signed South Africa’s new constitution. Mandela later awarded her with his country’s highest public honor in recognition of her years of campaigning on behalf of freedom for all South Africans. Sunday, January 4, 2009 was the funeral for Helen Suzman in Johannesburg’s West Park cemetery’s Jewish section. Hundreds of mourners gathered to honor this courageous woman who fearlessly battled against apartheid. I hope you have been encouraged by the story of Helen Suzman, and inspired to be a courageous truth-seeker in your own world. Call to Prayer for the DRCPosted December 30th, 2008 by Jen in persecuted church, politics/world news, religion10 Comments »
The history of the unrest in the Democratic Republic of Congo (formerly Zaire) is long and complex, involving notable European powers, especially Belgium. Below is a Timeline of the Democratic Republic of Congo from the BBC (note the Sept. 2005 entry, in which the Lord’s Resistance Army rebels of Uganda infiltrate the DR Congo via Sudan). There has been a heavy involvement of the UN in the Congo conflicts, dating back to about 1960, and I’m not so sure how much good they’ve done, considering things like the allegations of gold and arms trafficking by UN peacekeepers in Ituri region (May 2007). At any rate, as Christians whose brothers and sisters in Christ are being massacred, raped, displaced by the tens of thousands, and grievously injured in so many ways in the DRC, we must pray. If you want a place to give, World Relief, a Christian Relief Organization, has been delivering food and aid to local churches caught in the middle of the violence and terror of the civil war in the DRC that has claimed the lives of over 5 million people in the past 12 years. I met a local woman last month who runs a branch of World Relief here in Central Oregon. Until I met her, I really wasn’t aware of this crisis. Through her passion and outreach to the Congolese, I’ve suddenly noticed the DRC in the news–you know how that is, it’s been there all along. Timeline: Democratic Republic of Congo A chronology of key events: 1200s – Rise of Kongo empire, centred in modern northern Angola and including extreme western Congo and territories round lakes Kisale and Upemba in central Katanga (now Shaba). 1482 – Portuguese navigator Diogo Cao becomes the first European to visit the Congo; Portuguese set up ties with the king of Kongo. 16th-17th centuries – British, Dutch, Portuguese and French merchants engage in slave trade through Kongo intermediaries. 1870s – Belgian King Leopold II sets up a private venture to colonise Kongo. 1874-77 – British explorer Henry Stanley navigates Congo river to the Atlantic Ocean. Belgian colonisation 1879-87 – Leopold commissions Stanley to establish the king’s authority in the Congo basin. 1884-85 – European powers at the Conference of Berlin recognise Leopold’s claim to the Congo basin. 1885 – Leopold announces the establishment of the Congo Free State, headed by himself. 1891-92 – Belgians conquer Katanga. 1892-94 – Eastern Congo wrested from the control of East African Arab and Swahili-speaking traders. 1908 – Belgian state annexes Congo amid protests over killings and atrocities carried out on a mass scale by Leopold’s agents. Millions of Congolese are said to have been killed or worked to death during Leopold’s control of the territory. 1955 – Belgian Professor Antoin van Bilsen publishes a “30-Year Plan” for granting the Congo increased self-government. 1959 – Belgium begins to lose control over events in the Congo following serious nationalist riots in Leopoldville (now Kinshasa). Post-independence turmoil 1960 June – Congo becomes independent with Patrice Lumumba as prime minister and Joseph Kasavubu as president. 1960 July – Congolese army mutinies; Moise Tshombe declares Katanga independent; Belgian troops sent in ostensibly to protect Belgian citizens and mining interests; UN Security Council votes to send in troops to help establish order, but the troops are not allowed to intervene in internal affairs. 1960 September – Kasavubu dismisses Lumumba as prime minister. 1960 December – Lumumba arrested. 1961 February – Lumumba murdered, reportedly with US and Belgian complicity. 1961 August – UN troops begin disarming Katangese soldiers. 1963 – Tshombe agrees to end Katanga’s secession. 1964 – President Kasavubu appoints Tshombe prime minister. Mobutu years 1965 – Kasavubu and Tshombe ousted in a coup led by Joseph Mobutu. 1971 – Joseph Mobutu renames the country Zaire and himself Mobutu Sese Seko; also Katanga becomes Shaba and the river Congo becomes the river Zaire. 1973-74 – Mobutu nationalises many foreign-owned firms and forces European investors out of the country. 1977 – Mobutu invites foreign investors back, without much success; French, Belgian and Moroccan troops help repulse attack on Katanga by Angolan-based rebels. 1989 – Zaire defaults on loans from Belgium, resulting in a cancellation of development programmes and increased deterioration of the economy. 1990 – Mobutu agrees to end the ban on multiparty politics and appoints a transitional government, but retains substantial powers. 1991 – Following riots in Kinshasa by unpaid soldiers, Mobutu agrees to a coalition government with opposition leaders, but retains control of the security apparatus and important ministries. 1993 – Rival pro- and anti-Mobutu governments created. 1994 – Mobutu agrees to the appointment of Kengo Wa Dondo, an advocate of austerity and free-market reforms, as prime minister. 1996-97 – Tutsi rebels capture much of eastern Zaire while Mobutu is abroad for medical treatment. Aftermath of Mobutu 1997 May – Tutsi and other anti-Mobutu rebels, aided principally by Rwanda, capture the capital, Kinshasa; Zaire is renamed the Democratic Republic of Congo; Laurent-Desire Kabila installed as president. 1998 August – Rebels backed by Rwanda and Uganda rise up against Kabila and advance on Kinshasa. Zimbabwe, Namibia send troops to repel them. Angolan troops also side with Kabila. The rebels take control of much of the east of DR Congo. 1999 – Rifts emerge between Congolese Liberation Movement (MLC) rebels supported by Uganda and Rally for Congolese Democracy (RCD) rebels backed by Rwanda. Lusaka peace accord signed 1999 July – The six African countries involved in the war sign a ceasefire accord in Lusaka. The following month the MLC and RCD rebel groups sign the accord. 2000 – UN Security Council authorises a 5,500-strong UN force to monitor the ceasefire but fighting continues between rebels and government forces, and between Rwandan and Ugandan forces. 2001 January – President Laurent Kabila is shot dead by a bodyguard. Joseph Kabila succeeds his father. 2001 February – Kabila meets Rwandan President Paul Kagame in Washington. Rwanda, Uganda and the rebels agree to a UN pull-out plan. Uganda, Rwanda begin pulling troops back from the frontline. 2001 May – US refugee agency says the war has killed 2.5 million people, directly or indirectly, since August 1998. Later, a UN panel says the warring parties are deliberately prolonging the conflict to plunder gold, diamonds, timber and coltan, used in the making of mobile phones. 2002 January – Eruption of Mount Nyiragongo devastates much of the city of Goma. Search for peace 2002 April – Peace talks in South Africa: Kinshasa signs a power-sharing deal with Ugandan-backed rebels, under which the MLC leader would be premier. Rwandan-backed RCD rebels reject the deal. 2002 July – Presidents of DR Congo and Rwanda sign a peace deal under which Rwanda will withdraw troops from the east and DR Congo will disarm and arrest Rwandan Hutu gunmen blamed for the killing of the Tutsi minority in Rwanda’s 1994 genocide. 2002 September – Presidents of DR Congo and Uganda sign peace accord under which Ugandan troops will leave DR Congo. 2002 September/October – Uganda, Rwanda say they have withdrawn most of their forces from the east. UN-sponsored power-sharing talks begin in South Africa. 2002 December – Peace deal signed in South Africa between Kinshasa government and main rebel groups. Under the deal rebels and opposition members are to be given portfolios in an interim government. Interim government 2003 April – President Kabila signs a transitional constitution, under which an interim government will rule pending elections. 2003 May – Last Ugandan troops leave eastern DR Congo. 2003 June – French soldiers arrive in Bunia, spearheading a UN-mandated rapid-reaction force. President Kabila names a transitional government to lead until elections in two years time. Leaders of main former rebel groups are sworn in as vice-presidents in July. 2003 August – Interim parliament inaugurated. 2004 March – Gunmen attack military bases in Kinshasa in an apparent coup attempt. 2004 June – Reported coup attempt by rebel guards is said to have been neutralised. 2004 December – Fighting in the east between the Congolese army and renegade soldiers from a former pro-Rwanda rebel group. Rwanda denies being behind the mutiny. 2005 March – UN peacekeepers say they have killed more then 50 militia members in an offensive, days after nine Bangladeshi soldiers serving with the UN are killed in the north-east. New constitution 2005 May – New constitution, with text agreed by former warring factions, is adopted by parliament. 2005 September – Uganda warns that its troops may re-enter DR Congo after a group of Ugandan Lord’s Resistance Army rebels enter via Sudan. 2005 November – A first wave of soldiers from the former Zairean army returns after almost eight years of exile in the neighbouring Republic of Congo. 2005 December – Voters back a new constitution, already approved by parliament, paving the way for elections in 2006. International Court of Justice rules that Uganda must compensate DR Congo for rights abuses and the plundering of resources in the five years up to 2003. 2006 February – New constitution comes into force; new national flag is adopted. 2006 March – Warlord Thomas Lubanga becomes first war crimes suspect to face charges at the International Criminal Court in The Hague. He is accused of forcing children into active combat. 2006 May – Thousands are displaced in the north-east as the army and UN peacekeepers step up their drive to disarm irregular forces ahead of the elections. Free elections 2006 July – Presidential and parliamentary polls are held – the first free elections in four decades. With no clear winner in the presidential vote, incumbent leader Joseph Kabila and opposition candidate Jean-Pierre Bemba prepare to contest a run-off poll on 29 October. Forces loyal to the two candidates clash in the capital. 2006 November – Joseph Kabila is declared winner of October’s run-off presidential election. The poll has the general approval of international monitors. 2006 December – Forces of renegade General Laurent Nkunda and the UN-backed army clash in North Kivu province, prompting some 50,000 people to flee. The UN Security Council expresses concern about the fighting. 2007 March – Government troops and forces loyal to opposition leader Jean-Pierre Bemba clash in Kinshasa. 2007 April – DRCongo, Rwanda and Burundi relaunch the regional economic bloc Great lakes Countries Economic Community, known under its French acronym CEPGL. 2007 April – Jean-Pierre Bemba leaves for Portugal, ending a three-week political stalemate in Kinshasa, during which he sheltered in the South African embassy. 2007 May – The UN investigates allegations of gold and arms trafficking by UN peacekeepers in Ituri region. 2007 June – War could break out again in the east, warns the Archbishop of Bukavu, Monsignor Francois-Xavier Maroy. 2007 June – Radio Okapi broadcaster Serge Maheshe is shot dead in Bukavu, the third journalist killed in the country since 2005. 2007 August – Uganda and DRCongo agree to try defuse a border dispute. Aid agencies report a big increase in refugees fleeing instability in North Kivu which is blamed on dissident general Nkunda. 2007 September – Major outbreak of the deadly Ebola virus. 2008 January – The government and rebel militia, including renegade Gen Nkunda, sign a peace pact aimed at ending years of conflict in the east. Renewed clashes 2008 April – Army troops clash with Rwandan Hutu militias with whom they were formerly allied in eastern Congo, leaving thousands of people displaced. 2008 August – Heavy clashes erupt in the east of the country between army troops and fighters loyal to rebel leader Laurent Nkunda. 2008 October – Rebel forces capture major army base of Rumangabo; the Congolese government accuses Rwanda of backing General Nkunda, a claim Rwanda denies. Thousands of people, including Congolese troops, flee as clashes in eastern DR Congo intensify. Chaos grips the provincial capital Goma as rebel forces advance. UN peacekeepers engage the rebels in an attempt to support Congolese troops. 2008 November – General Dieudonne Kayembe dismissed as armed forces chief over war in east. Replaced by navy chief General Didier Etumba Longomba. The BBC timeline ends there, but I’m sure will soon be updated with the Christmas 2008 massacres. What will 2009 hold for the Democratic Republic of Congo? If all God’s people will get on their knees and pray and intercede for persecutions going on worldwide (this is just one of many), maybe we will see a radical change…
Technorati Tags: Lord’s Resistance Army, Uganda, Democratic Republic of Congo, Congo, DRC, persecuted church Before You GoPosted November 11th, 2008 by Jen in features, holidays, politics/world news7 Comments » Before You Go, a Tribute to our aging veterans. For my Grandpa T., who served in WWI, and Uncle Doug who served in the Korean War. Do you have friends or family members who have served in wars to protect our country and our national and individual freedoms? If so, be sure to thank them today. Perhaps a phone call, a letter, a small gift to convey your gratitude. From our local Veteran’s Day Parade:
From my blog post from Veterans Day last year: I remembered an old poem my mom wrote, and rummaged around this morning and thankfully found it. Her father was a WWI veteran. He spent the last decade of his life confined to a wheelchair, the result of mustard gas from the war. My grandpa died before I had the chance to meet him. But, thanks, Grandpa. ODE TO VETERANS Have you survived the overflowing banks Then I salute you, veteran of earth’s day. Also, you may want to look at my post on the Veterans History Project; here is an excerpt:
America, please honor your veterans. Remember. Give thanks. Understand that the freedoms we hold dear were paid for, and the price was very high. Olympics open, Russia invades Georgia, I get breakfast in bed.Posted August 8th, 2008 by Jen in china, family life, persecuted church, politics/world news10 Comments » Part I It’s a landmark day. Today marks the opening of the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, China. Unlike any opening ceremony in Olympic history, China has outdone itself, and the sleeping giant awakens.
The band played atop the Great Wall of China, at the Juyong Pass, as well as a Forbidden City performance, along with tours of Tiananmen Square, the Summer Palace, the Peking Opera, the Temple of Heaven, the Beijing Zoo, and much more. I loved this photo of the driving hazards enroute to Beijing.
All in all, still not sure why the Olympics are being held in a country that practices infanticide, extreme censorship, communism, and very limited religious, political, or social freedom. Part II
Reuters reports that Kakha Lamaia, a member of Georgia’s National Security Council, says that the two countries are “very close to war.” World powers around the globe are calling for an end to the violence, which is fierce and is escalating.
Immediately after President Bush and Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin enjoyed the opening ceremonies of the Beijing Olympics, mentioned above, these two world leaders met to discuss the situation between Russia and Georgia–more specifically, a separatist territory of Georgia known as South Ossetia. Most South Ossetians hold Russian citizenship and have close ties to Russia. Russia is claiming there is ethnic cleansing going on in South Ossetia, and thus they need to come in and save the day. My take is that Russia wants to take back part of its territory, once held for most of the two hundred years prior to the breakup of the Soviet Union. And they see an excuse to move in, with the unrest in South Ossetia. Russia is mad that Georgia has sought NATO membership–why should they care unless they feel that this move is in defiance of their rulership, and of course a threat to their security? Still not sure why President Bush is convening with a dictator-on-the-rise like Vladimir Putin. Part III Proceeding along to the North American continent, the biggest news comes right out of my cozy home. I was served breakfast in bed, for no apparent reason, by my seven-year-old daughter. I rolled over to a fried egg and a little voice that said, “Mommy, I made breakfast for you!” She served it up with a cup of coffee and a piece of toast, all to my utter surprise about where this flight of fancy originated. Never mind that the egg was over-easy and let me stress the “easy,” and the coffee was cold, its origins uncertain, the only option being the left-over coffee still in the pot from yesterday, which would explain the temperature. But the toast was excellent!
JJ had picked out some music, one of my old Amy Grant albums, and had created a festive atmosphere everywhere I turned. Surely this rivaled Beijing. Streamers were hanging from the ceiling, the table set with this unique combination of childhood and womanhood–fine wine glasses accompanied by paper plates and plastic silverware wrapped in crepe paper. I twirled and danced with my girls, and even my boys. Apparently, the egg and toast were not enough, so she proceeded to make French Toast for the whole family (minus Dad, who was already gone to work).
Still not sure why I got so lucky as to have breakfast in bed for no reason at all. photo credits: CFHS blog, FoxNews Technorati Tags: children, children cooking, Olympics, China, Georgia, family life, Russia, Vladimir Putin, Catalina Foothills High School German Homeschooling Ban Comes to Blog Talk Radio Tomorrow!Posted July 20th, 2008 by Jen in education, germany, persecuted church, politics/world news7 Comments »
This new Home School Talk radio show is hosted by Dana of Principled Discovery, who has written extensively about the homeschooling situation in Germany. The guest tomorrow is Rina, an Irish woman who homeschooled her children in Germany for a period and faced constant harassment from German authorities. Rina kept a blog updated through Dec. ’07 if you’d like to follow some of her saga there, as well as stories of many other German homeschoolers who dealt with similar harassment, fines, criminal penalties, loss of custody of children, and jail – just for homeschooling. Also a great source of updated information on German homeschooling is Kinderlehrer’s blog, Educating Germany, dedicated solely to this issue. Whether you’re a homeschooler or not, I’d encourage anyone who cares about basic human rights, parental rights, educational choice, and living in a free and democratic society, to tune in and educate yourself on this issue. If you’re not able to listen live, but have a question, comment, or encouragement for Rina, consider emailing Dana with your thoughts to pass on to her guest. Free SpeechPosted July 18th, 2008 by Jen in features, history, politics/world news, religion14 Comments » Some ramblings on free speech…pardon the lack of a cohesive statement. Today I’m thinking about the potency of the tongue, the desire of those who seek to censor it as a political power move, the double speak going on with regards to who should have free speech and who shouldn’t. This is not an academic piece of writing, so please, keep the lawyers away.
Inspired by Franklin D. Roosevelt’s speech, The Four Freedoms, dated January 6, 1941, Norman Rockwell (who I wrote about here) painted a series of freedom paintings, the first of which was The Freedom of Speech. Here is that segment of FDR’s speech mentioning the four freedoms:
I think it no coincidence that freedom of speech and expression is at the top of his list. Certainly, with Hitler’s tyranny against the slightest criticism and silencing of all forms of expression but Naziism, and with WWII then raging, Roosevelt saw a need to aggressively defend this particular freedom. The Guardian UK published an interesting timeline of the history of free speech a few years ago. Here are a few dates that caught my eye:
Hate Crimes Hate crimes, also known as bias motivated crimes, occur when the victim is targeted because of his membership in a certain group – racial, religious, gender, age, etc. I’m thinking of the lynching of African-Americans, ethnic cleansing in Bosnia, the Holocaust. History of hate crimes legislation: The federal hate crimes statute (18 U.S.C. § 245) was originally created to protect civil rights workers in the 1960s. There were serious issues of violence regarding African-Americans enrolling in public schools, enjoying public establishments, travel issues, and more. This statute deals with racial, ethnic, national origin, and religious bias, and does not include sexual orientation. However, almost all states have much broader hate crimes legislation that does include sexual orientation. The hype today is hate crime legislation targeting anti-gay sentiment. As far as assaults on gay people or destruction of property, or other violence toward homosexuals, there are already laws in place to deal with these crimes. So why is legislation being considered that criminalizes one’s moral or religious opposition to homosexuality? This clearly conflicts with the First Amendment guarantee of freedom of speech. If someone is inciting others to violence with their speech, this is another issue, but anything less than that is simply criminalizing one’s thoughts. Is this America? The expression of moral judgment is the right of a free person in a free society, whether one agrees with it or not. There are community standards and a consensus that help guide social mores, and clearly, there is not consensus on the homosexual issue. In 2007 the House passed HR 1592 before it was put away by the Senate. This was an attempt at expanding federal hate crime legislation and will be back. I like what Congressman Ron Paul had to say about HR 1592 (emphasis mine):
McCain-Feingold Have you ever wondered recently why Dr. Dobson won’t support John McCain for President? It’s partly because of the federal legislation that John McCain (R-AZ) pushed through in 2002, the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act, known as the McCain-Feingold Act. It basically restricted political free speech by placing new regulations on the financing of political campaigns – both in how much money can be raised and how and when groups can place political ads. For example, the Act requires advocacy groups to name their financial donors if they run ads within 60 days of a general election or within 30 days of a primary, if those ads were targeting candidates. In effect the McCain-Feingold Act limited the ability of groups like Focus on the Family to contact constituents about upcoming legislation. George Will commented on it last November:
Has anyone noticed how left-wing political speech (especially if you’re a Muslim) is protected and conservative political speech (especially if you’re a Christian) puts you in jail? And did you notice how House Speaker Pelosi exercised her free speech to call President Bush a “total failure” yesterday (inciting and fueling hatred of America?), yet Pelosi referred to conservative talk-radio as “hate” radio and wants to bring back the Fairness Doctrine (effectively censors conservative opinion on TV and radio). It’s only “hateful” speech if it’s anything under the sun the liberals disagree with; otherwise it’s “fairness.” Apparently only liberals/Muslims/gays/anybody-but-conservative-Christians deserve free speech (and deserve to hate). Are you disturbed about infringements on free speech?
Technorati Tags: faith, McCain-Feingold, Nancy Pelosi, free speech, First Amendment, Four Freedoms, Norman Rockwel, hate speech, hate crimes, Ron Paul, Dr. Dobson, Focus on the Family America: the good, the bad, and the uglyPosted June 29th, 2008 by Jen in family life, holidays, humor, politics/world news, the ranch19 Comments » This next weekend ushers in the birthday of the United States of America! Here are a few word pictures from this past week from me, in small town America, 232 years and still going. I’ve included the good, the bad, and the ugly, but as you’ll see, in America, we take the good with the bad and roll with it, and even the ugly – well, it’s a free country and we can call ugly if we want. Yesterday morning, at a local parade, celebrating that old west pastime called Rodeo, I was thrilled to see my friends’ Clydesdales in all their hugeness. This was GOOD.
And where else but Prineville could I find the Amazing Trash Can Marching Band? They dispose of garbage in step and in style. These guys were GOOD!
On to the BAD…look at the interesting mound I discovered on our property a few days ago.
Kids, do NOT jump in the pretty pile, because…take a closer look: Ooowwww. These are some aggressive ants, and I’ve been scrambling to find out what they are. Most notably, they have a red head and body and a shiny black behind. At first glance, they look and act just like the Allegheny Mound Ants. Build enormous piles. Have red head/thorax and black abdomen. But those mostly live in the upper Midwest to the New England states and south to Georgia. So, another possibility is the Red Imported Fire Ant (RIFA). They also build mounds. Also have red forebody and black abdomen. But they live mostly in the southeast, however a few California counties have been infested, and there’s been suspected infestations in Oregon. I’m supposed to immediately contact the Oregon Department of Agriculture if I think I have these RIFAs, because they are considered an invasive species, and a serious health risk to pets and children, not to mention the damage that can be done to crops and other native plant life. A final suspect, perhaps the most likely, is the harvester ant. This is a common desert ant, which fits my habitat. Another aggressive mound-building ant. Someone wrote a whole thesis on the harvester ant and how it’s helpful in locating small artifacts in archaeological surveys. I think I’ll start digging for Paiute relics in this very spot. The only issue I’m trying to resolve with the harvester ants is whether it’s likely for them to have a red head/thorax and a black rear. This is the only photograph from the Oregon high desert (or anywhere) I can find that fits what I see here on my property; the rest are all red or all black. Anyone? I can’t live with these creatures. It’s summertime and they are seriously swarming. They inflict especially painful stings and bites. Enter the brave husband. With the poison. We are not poison-happy people, but there are limits to my consciousness. Don’t worry, my pretties, there’s enough here for everyone. Take this to your egg laying machine MOMMY!! But here’s a small problem. I went back to the mound yesterday, expecting it to be very quiet. But no. More activity and seemingly more ants than ever. I re-poisoned the area, and I’ll check again later.
Enough of the BAD! But, remember, this is the United States, and I actually own this land of the mother-of-all-anthills (and have many ant poison options), God bless America! Would you like to see the UGLY from small town America?
Isn’t it great that a local fruit stand can sell delicious, sweet oranges, ugly and all? Great value, free from government imposed pricing, grown on fruitful land in a country where one can actually be a land-owner, we are so fortunate. If you really want ugly, you can read this supposed celebrate-America-Fourth-of-July-but-really-just-leftist-propaganda editorial, for which this newspaper should be ashamed. How about these berries? I feel some baking coming on. One aisle over from the ugly oranges, and as beautiful as they come. In closing, I hope you enjoy this lovely song, one of my very favorites, from that incredible musician, Rich Mullins. Here in America. Some of my favorite lyrics from this song: “…Once I went to Appalachia, for my father he was born there, and I saw the mountains waking with the innocence of children…and the Holy King of Israel loves me here, in America!” Do you have anything (good, bad, or ugly) to share from your slice of America? God Bless the U.S.A.
Technorati Tags: fruit stand, ants, July 4th Parade, Crooked River Roundup, Fourth of July, Clydesdales, Rich Mullins, Here in America Happy 60th IsraelPosted May 8th, 2008 by Jen in politics/world news6 Comments »
May 8, 1948, Israel declared its independence. On May 14, Israel celebrates its official Independence Day. I support Israel. Visit the Israel @ 60 information headquarters for events in Washington, D.C. and around the country. Technorati Tags: Israel Independence, Israel Religious Rights of Students in Public EducationPosted April 22nd, 2008 by Jen in education, politics/world news, religion10 Comments » A commenter made a good observation on my previous post about the case of the Wisconsin high school art student receiving a Zero and subsequent detentions for including in his landscape drawing a cross and the lettering “John 3:16.” The student, named as A.P. in a lawsuit against the school district, signed a policy the teacher presented at the beginning of the semester, which “prohibited any violence, blood, sexual connotations or religious beliefs in artwork.” Hmmm, placing religious beliefs alongside and seemingly on the level of violence, blood, and sexual connotations is interesting. Anyway, the comment was this:
Her question got me thinking. A minor can void a legal contract, true. The contract was not binding, but neither should it be meaningless. I don’t think it’s smart to be teaching kids that they can break contracts willy-nilly and be free of all responsibility. HOWEVER, this particular contract…oh boy. This student should have carefully read the contract at the beginning of the class and raised a stink at that point – because on the face of the policy itself is a violation of student rights, as set forth in legal precedent (Tinker v. Des Moines Community School District (1969) which upheld the right of students to wear black armbands in protest of the Vietnam War). Tinker held that the First Amendment did apply to public school students and teachers, and that regulation of student speech in the classroom would be allowed only if there was a constitutionally valid reason, like “substantial interference with school discipline or the rights of others.” A mere desire to avoid controversy is not a valid reason to suppress student expression. Tinker has since been limited by other cases, with the scope of free speech not including indecent speech (Bethel School District v. Fraser) and with school newspapers being regulated (Hazelwood v. Kuhlmeier). See also Perry Education Association v. Perry Local Educators Association and Morse v. Frederick. Not only the Tinker case, but a document from the Department of Education, circulated in 2003 (Guidance on Constitutionally Protected Prayer in Public Elementary and Secondary Schools), makes it clear that students have a right to religious expression in the classroom. Here is the relevant portion from that D.O.E. document:
The fact that this “contract” the student in Wisconsin signed was ever conceived and drafted shows not only the ignorance, but the bias, of this teacher/school. There is a lesson here for all students and parents of students in public schools: Know your rights. Because it’s obvious that attempts will be made to violate and undermine your rights, often out of honest ignorance of the law and confusion among school leaders about the religious liberties of students. That Dept. of Education document is a good one to print out and go over carefully with your child. The prevailing anti-religious climate and the extreme, sometimes absurd, secularization of public life doesn’t appear to be letting up, so be on top of the issues and use favorable laws to your advantage while we have them. Vigorously protect religious expression – this is a unique American principle. The point of the First Amendment is to prevent a state-sponsored religion, not to squash religious expression in American public life. It is unjust and unconstitutional to mandate that public schools be religion-free zones. Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof … — Religious-liberty clauses, First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution
Technorati Tags: religious liberty, First Amendment, religious expression, U.S. Constitution, religious freedom, public school Christ is Risen, Happy Easter!Posted March 23rd, 2008 by Jen in persecuted church, politics/world news, religion1 Comment » Easter blessings to you all! Today I celebrate the reason I can live. Here is some wonderful news out of Italy, a Muslim converts to Christianity.
I will pray for Allam, and many like him, who has already received death threats from Hamas, and he now faces additional danger, as converting from Islam is apostasy and punishable by death. Though killings are rare, Islamic legal doctrine does call for the death penalty for rejecting Islam. Peace of Christ to you on this blessed Easter. HT to Crunchy Con Norman Rockwell: The People’s PainterPosted February 24th, 2008 by Jen in arts & crafts, book reviews, features, history, politics/world news, product review10 Comments »
However, passing time and a view through a lens clarified by our own humanity is providing a fresh take on Rockwell. Are we not in need of art that springs from sentimentality about American values? Is there not a desperate call to understand the dignity of the common man? Isn’t this a time to celebrate democracy and the individual? Do we not need hope for our nation in the face of economic and international uncertainties? The engaging power of Norman Rockwell paintings are for such a time as this. If one judges Norman Rockwell by popular appeal, he has always been wildly successful. Though derided by the art world, he was embraced by the people. Though his storyteller style was out of fashion in the modern, abstract art establishment, Rockwell was clearly understood. Rockwell wrote in 1936:
Norman Rockwell was best known for his Saturday Evening Post covers, of which he painted hundreds over a period of 47 years. Of these, there are four from 1943 that are among his most famous and influential works. The Four Freedoms series, published in 1943, was inspired by president Franklin D. Roosevelt’s speech in which he set forth four principles for universal rights: Freedom from Want, Freedom of Speech, Freedom to Worship, and Freedom from Fear. The wartime effect of the bold statements made by these powerful paintings cannot be underestimated.
Lest we forget what American life was like in the 20th century, we have Rockwell. We can remember the best of America and the worst of America, but always with benevolent affection. The everyday happenings of everyday people were the subject of most of his work, painted with accuracy and an appealing sense of tradition. Resources:
Technorati Tags: art history, Boy Scout calendar, Norman Rockwel, Saturday Evening Post, The Four Freedoms Art Heist: What’s Your Theory?Posted February 12th, 2008 by Jen in arts & crafts, germany, politics/world news5 Comments »
The spectacular art heist of this past Sunday at the Bührle Museum in Zurich has rocked the art world, and police are working around the clock to solve the case and find any possible connections with other recent thefts, including the theft the previous week of two Pablo Picasso paintings stolen from a Swiss exhibition near Zurich. A note on the museum’s website says “The museum remains closed.”
The stolen art work has been valued at $180 million and comprised four Impressionist masterpieces: Poppies near Vetheuil by Claude Monet (1879), Count Lepic and his Daughters by Edgar Degas (1871), Blossoming Chestnut Branch by Vincent Van Gogh (1890) and Boy in a Red Waistcoat by Paul Cezanne (1888). Since this month my blog features have been about great artists, and the first artist I covered was Impressionist painter Pierre-Auguste Renoir, this breaking news certainly caught my attention. The Bührle Museum did have a Renoir on display, Little Irene, but it wasn’t touched, probably because the three masked gunmen couldn’t carry anymore heavy paintings, and the robbers appeared to have just taken the first four they came to. Motive? I mean, you can’t go out and sell the famous stolen art. “It’s extremely hard, if not impossible, to sell these works,” said Michaela Derra of Ketterer Kunst GmbH, a Munich, Germany-based purveyor of modern and contemporary art. Here is a speculation:
However, I have my own little theory. There is apparently a Saudi collector sending his thugs out to steal art for his private collection. None of the current stories I’ve found on the Bührle theft have mentioned this connection, so I could be promoting an absurd idea. Nonetheless, just two months ago, in Sao Paulo, Brazil, paintings by Picasso and Portinari were stolen, but recovered. One of the suspects in the case told detectives the paintings were to be delivered to a Saudi collector, who has not been publicly named by authorities. The history of Mr. Emil G. Bührle is very interesting, and perhaps he himself was a collector who obtained stolen art, and conceivably everything has come full circle. Bührle, born in Germany, was an industry tycoon who provided weapons to the Third Reich during World War II. In the aftermath of the war, he amassed one of Europe’s most valuable collections of art. It’s a tragedy of the war that the Nazis looted much of the great art owned by Jews, and many of Bührle’s pieces were on a “looted art list.” Exactly how Bührle obtained his collection is unknown, but some of it is “flight art,” works smuggled out by Jews and sold at bargain-basement prices to avoid confiscation by Nazis. Maybe this art heist was Jews taking back their rightful property, via a Saudi collector, who will ask for a ransom. At this point, any theory can be thrown into the ring. Electoral Compass: What’s Your Position?Posted January 18th, 2008 by Jen in politics/world news4 Comments »
My sister just emailed me a link to Electoral Compass – it’s a very handy quiz, with only 36 questions, to analyze how you align with each political candidate for the U.S. Presidential Election of 2008. Respond to each query, and voila, who you’re voting for is settled! No more undecided voters. Of course, it’s not quite as simple as a quiz. I’m a strong Mike Huckabee supporter, but the final report told me I’m closest to John McCain and furthest from Barack Obama (I would have guessed Hillary Clinton). You have to keep in mind that you may place more weight on a particular matter, while the quiz will give equal weight to all. The issues covered in the questions are: gun control, environment, Iraq, economy, income, national security, family, immigration, health care, law and order, education, and terrorism. A very nice feature of the quiz is that at the end, you may compare each of the candidates with your answers. An even nicer feature are the links provided on every issue for each candidate, linking to the various sources that are the basis of the quiz, such as debate transcripts, candidates’ websites, and other news sources. Strangely enough, it looks like this quiz was created by someone in the Netherlands. No guns, oh, and no free speech on public transitPosted January 1st, 2008 by Jen in education, politics/world news, religion5 Comments » The Texas woman who was kicked off the Forth Worth, Texas public transportation system “T” bus this past Saturday – was she concealing a weapon, endangering passengers with violent behavior, or selling drugs? No, she was reading her Bible to her children, enroute to church. Public Transportation is rife with problems. Last April in St. Paul, Minnesota, the city saw a 16 year old shot and killed while a passenger on the Metro Transit bus. In November, a 71 year old man was brutally beaten with a baseball bat in Gresham, Oregon by a 15 year old gang member at the MAX public transit station. Just two weeks ago in Baltimore, a 14 year old boy was shot and wounded on a Maryland Transit bus. And here’s just two paragraphs from the Baltimore Sun article to give you a taste of the real problems facing public transportation in major cities:
So don’t give me this flap about a lady reading the Bible on the bus. Is there nothing more interesting happening in Fort Worth, and the terribly bored bus drivers must resort to throwing off Bible reading mothers? According to MyFox Dallas-Fort Worth, the woman kicked off the bus, Christine Lutz, sees this as a clear case of religious persecution. Lutz told FOX 4 that she was sitting in the back of the bus, not being disruptive, and reading to her children from the Bible. She said she was stunned when the bus driver asked her to stop reading her Bible. Lutz responded, “No, I’m reading the Bible, I’m teaching the kids, I’m going to continue.” Before she knew it, the bus had pulled over, and she and her kids were escorted into a supervisor’s van and driven the remainder of the way to church. Now, as a homeschooling mom, I’m quite familiar with teaching on the go. In the van on the way to Cub Scouts, along the grocery aisles, in the waiting room at the doctor’s office, in line at the Post Office. I’m always teaching, reading the kids a story, answering questions. When dealing with children, animation is often required. I’ve surely annoyed some people along the way. However, the person waiting in line behind me to get his package shipped has no constitutional right to not be annoyed by my teaching. And I have a right to free speech. So does the obnoxious person shipping that package talking at full volume on his cell phone. So does the mother reading the Bible to her children on the public transit system. Officials at the Fort Worth T (Trinity Railway Express) claim that their treatment of Lutz had nothing to do with the content of what she was reading, but that she was simply too loud. They point to signs on the bus warning against playing radios and loud behavior. “If she were reading Moby Dick or reciting the Pledge of Allegiance or reading anything else, the same thing would have occurred,” said bus representative Joan Hunter. Really, Joan, does everyone sit in complete silence on the Fort Worth T? Perhaps I’ll try riding the T and read Winnie the Pooh to my children and see if I get thrown off. Given that not a single passenger had complained, this story is pretty weak. Given the real, bona fide problems facing mass transit systems in large cities, like thieves, gangs, and drug dealers, it’s clear to this blogger that the bus driver was in fact engaging in a form of religious persecution. Or maybe just an extremely low annoyance tolerance level. This woman deserves the public apology she is seeking. Anything for a VotePosted December 7th, 2007 by Jen in family life, politics/world news6 Comments » I was listening to NPR the other day, and heard about “Caucus! The Musical,” a lighthearted musical comedy highlighting Iowa’s crucial role in the frenzied presidential nomination process. One of the songs was aired, “Anything for a Vote,” and here the creator of “Caucus!”, Robert John Ford, gives us a hilarious and irreverent view of a politician’s campaigning. Here’s a taste:
If you live in Iowa and get a chance to see one of their shows, it sounds like you’re in for a treat.”Caucus! The Musical” premieres at the State Historical Museum Theatre in Des Moines December 27, 2007 through January 13, 2008.
Last weekend, I found myself at the Portland Airport, and my niece’s flight was delayed several hours, so I ended up not being able to drive back over the mountain that night. As I sat waiting, I was thankful I had brought my laptop, and got some work done. AND, I shot off an email to Mrs. Darling, who I happened to know lived in the area. She is a great bloggy friend, and I hesitated only a moment before clicking “send,” thinking, she won’t mind. I gave her my cell phone number, and said, hey, I’m stuck in Portland for a while, would you mind a visitor?! Sure enough, just before my niece’s plane rolled in, my phone rang. Mrs. D. and I made arrangements, and she was not a bit nervous giving her address to a complete stranger! Only, we’re really not strangers, as we discovered. We’ve corresponded enough through blog and email that when we finally sat down for a long visit, if was as if with an old friend. I’m sure all of Mrs. Darling’s other blog friends are quite jealous! She always has long lists of visitors, and I can assure them all that Mrs. D. is truly just as she presents herself. For having a drop-in visitor, her house was immaculate, she quickly prepared some delicious hors d’oeuvres and coffee, and she set aside her other plans for her surprise guest. I was honored. Now, Mrs. D. should really get an award for her amazing hospitality. Yesterday in History: Benazir Bhutto of PakistanPosted November 17th, 2007 by Jen in politics/world news4 Comments » Yesterday I wanted to write about “This Day in History.” I didn’t have time…do you ever have a great idea for a blog post, do a bit of research, then, poof, your time is gone and there are real-life obligations to tend to? So, just to give you my Reader’s Digest condensed version of yesterday’s This Day in History, here it is. November 16 – On this day in 1988, Benazir Bhutto was elected as the Prime Minister of Pakistan, the first woman, and at age 35 the youngest person in modern times, to be head of the government of a Muslim-majority state.
Benazir Bhutto has attended Radcliffe, Harvard, and Oxford. Her father was a former Prime Minister who was executed for conspiracy to murder the father of a dissident politician. Two of her brothers were murdered. She has been under house arrest, lived in exile, and survived an assassination attempt. How can you not be curious about this enigmatic woman? Since November 3, 2007, there has been a “State of Emergency” in Pakistan, as Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf suspended the constitution and imposed martial law, citing dangers of religious extremism, terrorism, and an interfering judiciary. Bhutto immediately interrupted a visit to family in Dubai (Grace, have you seen her around? :-) ) and returned to Pakistan. Initial talks of power-sharing between Bhutto and Musharraf have broken down. Yesterday, Benazir Bhutto said she would not talk to Pervez Musharraf on any issue, but will continue her struggle against dictatorship in Pakistan and seek to restore democracy. Bhutto’s recent comments:
I hope you’re able to follow a bit of the news coming out of Pakistan. I think the Pakistani situation has great bearing on the future of Middle East stability and the war on terror, which ultimately has a direct and terrifying bearing on the the United States. Bhutto now presents herself as the opposition leader, with probable elections in January. Hmmm, read this before you decide what you think. Deals with the DevilPosted August 14th, 2007 by Jen in politics/world news, religion4 Comments »
Supposedly, this release was a “gesture of goodwill” according to a Taliban spokesman. However, an unnamed source says the two hostages were freed for ransom, after direct negotiations between the government of South Korea and the Taliban. I welcome the release of the two women, and praise God for this unfolding of events. However… Is it right to make deals with the devil? I’ve been grappling with this issue of giving in to the demands of the Taliban. Every compassionate person in the world wants these hostages released. But what is the real price? It’s not $10 million and it’s not eight Taliban fighters being released. It’s a strengthened force of evil that gets more powerful every time it is fed through compromise. I had to ask that question, WWJD? I found an answer of sorts in these scriptures. Mark 1:12-13; Matthew 4:1-11; Luke 4:1-15; John 1:19-2:25. These are the biblical accounts of Jesus facing the Devil in the wilderness. Jesus had been fasting for forty days and forty nights and he was hungry, as any man would be. The Devil came and tempted him with several deals. In exchange for Jesus dealing with the Devil in some way or another, and giving the Devil either legitimacy or worship, Jesus could have bread to eat, personal safety, or all the power in the world. Jesus was in an extremely difficult position and was offered a variety of tempting compromises by the Devil. So I decided I could attempt a comparison here. In my little analogy, Jesus will be the Christian South Koreans and their advocates, and the Devil will be the Taliban. So the Taliban Devil comes to the South Korean Christian advocates, which group is also in an extremely difficult position, and begins to offer deals. The heart of the deals is a demand to recognize me, worship me, which is what the Devil really wants. If the South Korean Christian advocates would respond as Jesus, they would first say, “Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.” In other words, being held hostage, when offered freedom (bread) at the cost of bowing to the demands of the Devil, they should decline, believing that their life and freedom comes from the mouth of God. Next, when the South Korean Christian advocates are guaranteed their personal safety as Jesus was (throw Yourself down and the angels will catch you, quoting scripture), they should respond, “You shall not put the Lord Your God to the test.” In other words, when the Taliban Devil begins to talk as if he is a genuine and sanctioned authority who knows the language of negotiation, do not be fooled. And finally, when the Taliban Devil says I will give you all the hostages if you give me $10 Million (fall down and worship me), then the response of the South Korean Christian advocates should be “Go, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord Your God, and serve Him only.’” And what do you think would happen if the South Korean Christian advocates responded as Jesus did and refused to deal with the Devil? Would everything fall apart, would everyone die, would there be ruin? No, I believe that we would have the same ending as given in Matthew 4:11: “Then the devil left Him; and behold, angels came and began to minister to Him.” photo credits: Korea Times Taliban MurderersPosted August 1st, 2007 by Jen in politics/world news6 Comments » I noticed a CNN story from July 22, in which a Taliban spokesman said that talks with South Korea over the fate of the 23 volunteer [Christian] aid workers were progressing well, and “the situation will be solved peacefully.” These South Korean Christian aid workers were seized by Taliban forces on July 18, while travelling from Kandahar to the Afghan capital of Kabul. Well, the Taliban has murdered two of the hostages so far – as of Aug. 1, 2007, 10:30 a.m. Pacific Standard Time. The latest Taliban deadline has passed. My prayers go out to the families of Rev. Bae Hyung-kyu and Shim Sung-min. Why, again, is any government negotiating with lying, murderous madmen? I am on my knees praying for my brothers and sisters in Christ, who are being persecuted. Please join me. The Afghan army has dropped leaflets in the Ghazni area where the hostages are being held, warning area residents of an impending military mission. I can only pray for God-speed, a successful mission, the saving of the South Korean Christians, and the destruction of the Taliban. But under no circumstances should any of the governments or groups involved bow to the requests of the Taliban. No exchange of militant Taliban prisoners for the South Korean hostages. Giving in to the demands of terrorists only invites more terrorism. This is so very difficult, I know. The humanitarian loss is crushing. If my son or daughter were among the hostages…I am sure my emotions would cloud my opinions.
There is a gathering of South Korean families at the U.S. Embassy today. These families of the hostages are angry….at the United States. One young man carries a sign that says “Bush, talk to the Taleban.” And why is this situation the fault of the United States? Yes, we led the multinational force that brought down the Taliban regime in Afghanistan after the terrorist attacks of September 11. Does that mean the U.S. is responsible for the acts of every madman in the region? No, it’s just nice to have someone else to blame, somewhere else to direct your anger. photo credits: Reuters Growing up on Rt. 666: Immigration Reform and Border SecurityPosted June 15th, 2007 by Jen in politics/world news5 Comments » Just give me some border security, and the only other thing I ask is for Mexico to clean up the homeland a sufficient amount so their natives will remain there and enjoy their own beloved country.
I remember in 1990 when U.S. Customs officials discovered the most sophisticated underground concrete tunnel between Agua Prieta and Douglas…responsible for the trafficking of many thousands of tons of cocaine and marijuana into the U.S., right down Rt. 666. I was gone by then, but not at all surprised by this discovery. Back then, Rt. 666 was perhaps the greatest drug trafficking avenue from Mexico. We couldn’t put a stop to it then, and look where it’s got us. The drug cartel activity is reaching desperate proportions – do you recall the Cananea shootings last month? Just southeast of Nogales, AZ, nearly spilling over into border towns, were 50 out of control Mexican drug hit men, killing police officers and others who were targeted for betraying an agreement with a drug cartel. My childhood crush was Ernesto Hermosillo, the cutest Mexican boy I knew, and the kindest and smartest boy altogether. I can honestly say I survived living in Cochise County, Arizona without a trace of racist attitude toward Mexicans, despite my incredibly racist father who rambled on about the “damned wetbacks” and refused to let me play with Marianne, the only black girl in the entire county. Maybe it was because we were so dirt poor (I literally lived in a shack with a dirt floor, until it was upgraded to concrete way before this was fashionable) that Ernie’s quonset hut looked really nice next to my shack. So, the piece of immigration reform now on the table that relates to border security…that’s what I’m interested in. I have absolutely nothing against good Mexican people, and I still love Ernie, wherever he is, but I want legality, I want safety, I want zero tolerance for drug trafficking Mexican cartel thugs. As my husband and I were just discussing this issue of immigration, he said the heart of the matter is really wages. We make all the illegals legal, and we suddenly have to pay them a fair wage. Can our country handle that? I said, why can’t Mexico just reform their country enough to make it nice enough to not want to leave it? Ah, here is the real issue. Mexico is corrupt. Too corrupt to reform its country. We philosophized about why this is. To us, the answer is obvious. Nations that forget God will fail. We named several countries off the top of our heads that are corrupt and riddled with unsurmountable problems, that have forgotten God. African nations, China, Russia, Latin America, …. Back to immigration reform and border security. There appears to be no immediate chance for Mexico to undergo an overnight no-corruption makeover. Do we want children of a corrupt father spilling over the borders? I don’t know, I had a corrupt father but does that make me corrupt? Do I want secure borders? Absolutely, and I’ll pay the price for it. If the Hermosillos are locked out, along with the drug lords, so be it. The current immigration bill would commit the most resources to border security in U.S. history, and that gets my vote. Rt. 666 has a new name, let’s give it a new image. Melissa’s Birthday CakePosted April 24th, 2007 by Jen in education, family life, politics/world news9 Comments »
And I couldn’t resist showing some pictures of the aftermath of lighting the candles. My kids had such fun–but they do understand why we celebrated with this cake today. My 5 year old daughter, who wasn’t completely solid on the details, told her grandma the cake was for “Melissa, who turned 16 and escaped from jail.” But as you may know, Melissa herself stated that her time in the psychiatric ward was “like a prison.”
I’ve emailed my cake picture to: falumafischer@aol.com – and if you have a picture, get it on over there, and be sure to post here to let me see it, too! This “Birthday Action” for Melissa is a small token of love to her, and this project will culminate with a special album to be given to Melissa, including all of the photos which are submitted. The pictures will soon be posted on Bildungsinitiative Zukunft.
Melissa, we feasted on your cake, and we speak blessings over you this day. Welcome Home, Melissa and Happy Birthday!Posted April 23rd, 2007 by Jen in education, politics/world news5 Comments »
We have been praying, with thousands of others, for this outcome. We continue to pray for the many other German homeschooling families still being persecuted. I wonder what the situation would look like if Melissa were say, only 13 years old? Would that mean three more years in confinement away from her family? There are efforts underway by several groups within Germany to push for education reform and the reversal of the law making homeschooling illegal. The Kolloquium being held this weekend in Germany (April 27-29), hosted by Netzwerk Bildungsfreiheit, is the second annual International Colloquim on Home Education, the goal being freedom of choice in education. If you’d like to make a contribution to this cause, that’s a practical way to give assistance. Most people I know are ignorant of the gravity of this situation. Please investigate. Dana reports that a “Birthday Action” is planned on behalf of Melissa. The idea is to light 16 candles (on a cake? or not) and take a picture – send it to falumafischer@aol.com. The goal is for 123 families to take part, so a total of 1,968 candles may be lit, one for each hour Melissa has been held hostage by the state. The pictures will then be posted here. I’ll post my picture later today! For some other ideas on actions you can take, visit Kinderlehrer’s site, and browse through her posts on who to appeal to in the government, and ideas for letters to write, among other particulars. Another interesting action to look into is the possibility of providing asylum to German families who are fleeing the country or going into hiding to avoid the tragedy of Melissa – their children being stolen away. An article I read recently quoted Home School Legal Defense Association co-founder, Michael Farris as saying:
I was wondering, and perhaps someone out there can inform me — is there a need for people to be offering asylum? Here in America, how would one go about offering asylum? Would German families even want to come here? Legally, does the United States grant asylum to individuals wanting to escape a fellow “democratic” nation? Just thinking. UPDATE: See Dana’s update regarding the startling details of of Melissa’s return home. A refusal by the Youth Welfare Office to allow Melissa to visit her parents for her birthday led her to climb out her foster family’s window at 3 a.m. and make her way home! Expect some further action here. She apparently has not yet been discharged from the foster care system, and the Youth Welfare Office is saying they will carefully consider further steps “in the interests of the child.” If their consideration of the best interest of Melissa is the guiding light here, expect more travesty of justice. Bonhoeffer executed today in 1945Posted April 9th, 2007 by Jen in general, germany, persecuted church, politics/world news6 Comments » Monday, April 9 – today’s date – in 1945, was the morning of the hanging of Dietrich Bonhoeffer at the Flossenburg Concentration Camp. German pastor, writer, dissident, and martyr. A great force behind the German Resistance to Hitler’s Nazi regime. Sadly, ironically, but perhaps most profound, is the fact that just a few days later, Allied troops liberated the camp. Three weeks following, Adolf Hitler had committed suicide, and within a month, Germany had surrendered unconditionally. But I believe that Bonhoeffer speaks to us through his sacrifice more clearly today than he did in his life.
Just as a prophet is not accepted in his own town (Matthew 13:57), Bonhoeffer was speaking so far ahead of his time that I believe most of his contemporaries benefited little from his life. Many of his fellow pastors and churchpeople supported Hitler’s policies. The true beneficiaries of Dietrich Bonhoeffer are those of us living today. As he explained his involvement in a plot to assassinate Hitler, Bonhoeffer said: “If I see a madman driving a car into a group of innocent bystanders, then I can’t, as a Christian, simply wait for the catastrophe and then comfort the wounded and bury the dead. I must try to wrestle the steering wheel out of the hands of the driver.” A further glimpse into the action-oriented Bonhoeffer was his collaboration in an effort to help a group of Jews escape to Switzerland that led to his arrest and imprisonment in April 1943, two years prior to his execution. So, I’m trying to lay the framework of all of this history onto life today. Here’s a Bonhoeffer quote that helps his death bring some benefit to me today: “Nothing is fixed, and nothing holds us. The film, vanishing from memory as soon as it ends, symbolizes the profound amnesia of our time. Events of world-historical significance, along with the most terrible crimes, leave no trace behind in the forgetful soul.” Can we please not suffer from profound amnesia? Can we please not be illiterate regarding church history? Bonhoeffer displayed the most admirable resistance to tyranny you can hope for; yet this was too late for his own age – we are the recipients, and our call is to respond to the conditions that make tyranny possible. We are offered the opportunity, if we would educated ourselves with this history, to direct action at the root of the problem, instead of being forced into a violent struggle with the full-blown fuhrer. So, The Cost of Discipleship teaches me that believing in Jesus isn’t enough – there is a call to action, and Bonhoeffer sets a real-life example of sometimes radical action. Bonhoeffer warns against the “cheap grace” that advocates belief without obedience. “Christianity without the living Christ is inevitably Christianity without discipleship, and Christianity without discipleship is always Christianity without Christ. It remains an abstract idea, a myth.” Here are some issues I’ll be exploring in more detail in another post – this is an excerpt from the 2003 documentary film, Bonhoeffer:
Do you think the church has any reason today to act against the state? Ahh, now we’re getting to the heart of this, and we must examine this closer if Bonhoeffer’s martyrdom is to have been of any profit. Britons back home, Happy Easter! But why?Posted April 5th, 2007 by Jen in politics/world news1 Comment »
An Associated Press story today said the release is largely credited to the pragmatic conservatives like Ali Larijani, Iran’s top foreign policy negotiator (and also its chief nuclear negotiator). Well, with “pragmatic” being defined with synonyms like “sensible” and “practical,” one would be hopeful.
Maybe he’s pragmatic in comparison to Iran’s hard-line president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who would like to see the U.S. as well as Israel wiped from the map. It’s like saying that when compared to jumping off a 300 foot cliff onto rocks, jumping off a 200 foot cliff onto rocks is very sensible. So why the release of the Britons? I honestly don’t know, but I highly doubt that pragmatism is the answer. This is pure political maneuvering, propaganda at its best. Iran has an aggressive nuclear program, and of course the release of these British sailors and marines raised hopes for Iranian compromises on its nuclear program, as stated in the A.P. story. There is no compromise with madmen. As Dietrich Bonhoeffer warned, “If the synagogues are set on fire today, it will be the churches that will be burned tomorrow.” photo credits: AP and Reuters Scopes in reversePosted March 26th, 2007 by Jen in education, politics/world news, religion, science5 Comments »
Pebble Chaser has covered this superbly, so I won’t go into the whole terrible ordeal; go see what Heidi said. I did just want to add that I found it incredibly ironic that a brief glance back in history shows that the Butler Act, 1925, prohibited teachers from teaching anything but the Divine Creation of man as set forth in the Bible, and specifically banned teaching that man was descended from a lower order of animals. (Of course, the ridiculous publicity stunt of the Scopes trial changed that.) But here we are, just 80 some years later, and those same teachers are prohibited from teaching anything but that man was descended from a lower order of animals. photo by: Gary Albertson Stop the world, I want to get off!Posted March 22nd, 2007 by Jen in education, politics/world news3 Comments »
And what of the new German case of the Brause family?! What in the world? Two parents with college degrees, a judge who acknowledges the children are “well-educated,” yet the court has taken custody of the five children away from their homeschooling parents (though not yet removed from the home)…The crime, again, is not providing the children with a public school education. (Just in case you haven’t been following, homeschooling is illegal in Germany.) The fears of the International Human Rights Group, and so many others, have come true. The German state has been emboldened by the court’s decision in the Busekros case, and continues to TERRORIZE homeschool families. What planet am I on? “Stop the world, I want to get off!” When I read of the Brause case, on the heels of the Busekros tragedy, I immediately thought of Randy Stonehill’s song, “Stop the World.”
STOP THE WORLD
Stop the world
No, no
In Germany you can prosti*ute
Well, I think I’ll go throw up now. I certainly can’t sleep after thinking about this. If you want to comment, click on the title above, go to the bottom of this post and comment. In Him we live and move and have our beingPosted March 20th, 2007 by Jen in education, poetry, politics/world news, religion10 Comments » I thought I’d take the Apostle Paul’s tactic with Athens, and quote some poetry for Germany. Around A.D. 50, Paul went to preach in Athens, then eminently famous for learning, philosophy, and fine arts. And godless idolatry. The Athenians actually had an altar with the inscription, “To the unknown god,” just in case they missed one in all their god-worshipping.
So, on to Germany…I must say I was inspired by commenter John’s post at Principled Discovery. Regarding the German homeschool case of Melissa Busekros, which I’ve written about here and here, John gave a historical context of the intellectual elitist mentality in Germany:
Many people do not realize that prior to what took place in the late 1930′s and early to mid 1940′s Germany had become the most intellectual and erudite nation on the planet. It is this very mentality that spawned the horrible dilemma of WW2 and the Holocaust that is now part of our World history. Germany reminds me of Athens, I must say. Intellectual, erudite…And John ended his comment with these words: Every civilization that has forgotten God has failed. Well, the Apostle Paul was probably the greatest teacher and most successful evangelizer of all time (besides Jesus), and if he quotes Athenian poetry to Athenians, I can’t go wrong quoting German poetry to Germans.
Excerpt from Faust, Part 1 Der Allumfasser, And in English: The all-embracing one, Goethe Learned men and women of Germany, do not worship intellectualism or philosophy, but worship God, “the all-embracing one, the all-preserving one,” as your own poet has said. The child is not the mere creature of the statePosted March 13th, 2007 by Jen in education, politics/world news6 Comments »
The famous words from Pierce v. Society of Sisters, 268 U.S. 510 (1925), would be helpful for the German judges to take to heart: “The child is not the mere creature of the state; those who nurture him and direct his destiny have the right, coupled with the high duty, to recognize and prepare him for additional obligations.” This landmark case held that the Oregon Compulsory Education Act that required attendance at public schools was unconstitutional under the Fourteenth Amendment. There have been a string of other courts cases which have solidified the rights of parents to homeschool their children. An interesting note in the Pierce case is that it was the Ku Klux Klan that was behind the amendment to Oregon’s Compulsory Education Act which would have made it illegal for students to attend private schools. Of course, we know the strong ties during WWI between the KKK and the Nazis. It seems like the same types of people are intent on passing the same types of laws.
Aha! So the German State has further indicted itself, and this is even worse than just saying homeschooling is illegal. They have just violated their own Basic Law (Grundgesetz). The Basic Law, by the way, is the constitution of Germany, and came into effect in 1949 after being ratified by all the German states (Lander) – with the exception of Bavaria, where not so coincidentally, the Busekros family resides. Right off the bat, Article 1 of the Basic Law says “human dignity shall be inviolable.” Skip to the heart of the matter and read Article 4: “Freedom of faith and of conscience, and freedom to profess a religious or philosophical creed, shall be inviolable.” Saying so doesn’t make it so. It’s violable, all right. It says right there that everyone should have the freedom to say that their State is despotic and fascist! Everything the Busekros lawyers need to back up their case is spelled out in the German constitution. Or they can look at similar wording in the U.N. Universal Declaration of Human Rights – which, I must point out, specifically addresses parental rights in education: Article 26(3) says “Parents have a prior right to choose the kind of education that shall be given to their children.” Prior rights means the parent’s right is prior to the state’s right. So what in the world is wrong with these German judges?? I have no idea what German case law looks like, or what legal precedents are in their courts. Is this judicial tyranny? Is Germany still too “newborn” to stand up on it’s wobbly legs of democracy? Would their judges show enough wisdom and humility and look at some of our legal rulings? (At least look at them now, before the tide turns over on this side of the world). Condoleezza, what about Germany?Posted March 7th, 2007 by Jen in education, politics/world news10 Comments »
“A problem for some groups” is truly an understatement of the horrific human rights violations occurring in Germany. Because of a 1938 law prohibiting homeschooling, German families who have a need or desire for an alternative education are literally being persecuted. The Busekros case is unfolding in 2007, so I can’t hold the Human Rights Report to task for this oppression, however, 2006 and previous years are rife with examples of egregious violations. A February, 2006 letter to the U.N. Commission for Human Rights details several violations of German homeschoolers’ civil and human rights, including the following acts enforced against home educating parents by the German state: imprisonment, fines, loss of custody of children, criminal charges, children forced to school by police, and forced admission of children into a psychiatric clinic or foster home. The Busekros case is simply a continuation of a pattern of abuse. Yes, this is current, I am not pulling stories from 1940s era Germany, as it would seem. The 1938 law enacted by the Hitler regime was an effort to control every aspect of free thought, and we all know the results, unless you’re one of the “Holocaust-never-happened” people. And how is the modern German state justifying its position that compulsory education can not include home education? A few quotes I came across shed some light. Here’s an excerpt from a letter from the Consul General of the Federal Republic of Germany, in response to inquiries on the Melissa Busekros case: “The public has a legitimate interest in countering the rise of parallel societies that are based on religion or motivated by different world views and in integrating minorities into the population as a whole.” That doesn’t sound a whole lot different than old Germany, and I can think of an entire parallel culture that was nearly wiped out by that philosophy. Another telling quote, from a 2005 case involving seven homeschool families in Northwest Germany, is even more insidious. Heinz Kohler, the county education director, said that “the parents’ rights to personally educate their children would prevent the children from growing up to be responsible individuals within society…” Clearly, something is going on here, because studies of homeschoolers show higher test scores, greater community involvement, and very well-rounded individuals. What Kohler and the German state meant to say is that the children will grow up to be free-thinking (horrors) responsible individuals within society. I can understand compulsory education in that the state has a legitimate interest in an educated public, but there are many, many ways to educate, and many individual circumstances that call for an alternative education. For crying out loud, an eight year old disabled boy was forced, against his parents’ wishes, and with the threat of removal of custody, to attend the school the German officials demanded he attend (the Gerber case). So, there are strange things going on in Germany. Prostitution is legal and widespread, while homeschooling is illegal and families are fleeing the country. And a precious young girl is still held hostage away from her family. Please visit the International Human Rights Group website for a list of high ranking German officials to contact to voice your protest and demand in the name of human rights that Melissa be released back into the custody of her parents. As for Condoleezza Rice and the State Department, I’d ask that they take a closer look at Germany. |
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They say that truth is stranger than fiction, and the story of the Marquis de Lafayette fits this expression well. His is the tale of a teenage orphan who travels to a foreign land to offer his services in a David versus Goliath type battle. Winning that battle, he returns to his homeland where he is a key player in the French Revolution.
He has been named Islam’s “Public Enemy #1″ by al-Insan al-Jadid, an Arabic newspaper, and by merely looking at this elderly Coptic priest, one would fail to see why.


Helen Suzman lived long enough to greet 2009, by one day. This extraordinary anti-apartheid activist from South Africa, whose name is as great as that of Nelson Mandela in the fight for true freedom for black South Africans, died on January 1, 2009.
A map of the northeastern DR Congo, Uganda and Sudan, showing attacks attributed to the rebel Lord’s Resistance Army. Ugandan Lord’s Resistance Army rebels killed more than 400 people in Christmas massacres in northeastern Democratic Republic of Congo, the Caritas aid charity said Tuesday. (
My niece, Karen, recently returned from China with her school band. The Catalina Foothills High School Marching Band (Tucson, Arizona) was chosen to perform in the 2008 pre-Olympic festivities in Beijing, and she was the most excited 16-year-old girl you could imagine. She plays clarinet and oboe, and did the U.S. proud.

Moving across the continent to Eastern Europe, the news is anything but festive. Russia
Not to settle for anything minimal, my daughter continued her morning homemaking. “Mommy, put on your best dress and come downstairs,” she called through the door. Curious as the mother hen that I am, I quickly complied, and entered the kitchen-converted-to-a-ballroom.
If you’re following the crisis in Germany regarding that country’s 





America is soooo great, that even our “ugly” isn’t that bad. Okay, that is not true, there are truly horrific things going on in America, just as there are around the world. We all need Jesus! But, with our great nation’s birthday upon us, I’d rather find a bit of humor, a bit of appreciation for our free country.


Rockwell was born in 1894 in New York. He was a prolific painter, producing over 4000 original works. It’s fitting that one of his first jobs was art editor for the Boy Scouts of America, and Rockwell’s annual contributions to the Boy Scouts’ calendars between 1925 and 1976 have earned him a permanent place in the hearts of millions. Steven Spielberg has said that Rockwell’s scouting paintings inspired him to pursue his life’s work.


And apparently, your own Diary of 1 will do anything for a vote, too! It seems I’ve been nominated for a
I find her story fascinating and intriguing. And she’s baaack. She’s so beautiful and well-spoken, and I so want to believe her when she says she’s returning to bring democracy to Pakistan. But I can’t get past her sordid history of massive
The Taliban released two female hostages on Monday, the
South Koreans
I grew up on
I
Almost better than the cake itself are the rituals of blowing out the candles and then licking the frosting off the candles. With three or more children blowing at once, the task is accomplished in an instant. I had to shoot fast to get this on camera. And hey, we’re all family here, so a little spit on the cake is no matter.
Oh, if you could have seen these kids double-dipping their candles into the white fluffy frosting! Personally, I find the frosting revolting, and have always, even as a child, scraped it right off! And whenever I can get away with it, I prepare our cakes sans frosting.
Wow, I was so thrilled to 








